[cheesypeetyz]

We'll keep our cats in on bonfire night (think 4th of july), but other than that we let them out. In the winter 2 of them go out in the morning then promptly meow at the upstairs window when they want to come in, they act more like indoor cats I suppose then. And in the summer we leave a window open but get them in at night. If we were in a tight urban area we probably wouldn't let them have as much freedom, or if there were neighbors that complained or would shoot a cat on sight, but our back yard shares with a row of houses so they have a safe little area. There are a couple other cats in the area with similar freedoms. There are also 2 houses close by, one in opposite directions of us who feed strays and are proper cat lovers, so our neighborhood is pretty good for it really. We actually got worried last year when one of them wouldn't come when called (she always did). And it was just that she meow'd at next door until they let her in apparently and if we called for long enough they would open the door to let her back out. So I think the worst we've had to deal with so far is someone trying to steal pats.
On the other hand, a couple years ago one of the strays that our neighbor was feeding was hit and killed by a car.