I grew up in a village called Cumberland that is growing in slow, moderated steps…

As someone who lived during a large chunk of the Cold War, let me add some personal perspective on this. You are absolutely right in that the Soviet Union and the West were in a war from WWII on. A spy war, an economic war and several hot proxy wars.

The US lost nearly all of those, but they did win the economic war, and in doing so broke the USSR economically and politically.

After the USSR fell, the Cold War was over. Done. Finito. To emphasize this, capitalism came pouring into all the former SSR’s and former Soviet citizens got to taste consumerism triggering chaos that took a full generation to hammer out. And then the 2010’s came along and Russia began using it’s natural resources to become more and more integrated with Europe.

To the point where some analysts were beginning to be worried that Russia might come to dominate the EU economically.

In fact, if Putin had waited another 5 years Europe would likely have become so dependant on Russian natural gas that they would literally have been unable to effectively protest any move Russia made, in fear of them turning off the tap. Russia was on the road to being THE dominant power in Europe, and Putin literally threw it ALL away chasing dreams of a renewed Russian Empire.

Weirdly enough, actual lifespan comparisons seem to be very hard to find. Studies showing slightly higher disease (4%) rates. Higher rates of eating things their owner didn’t give them. Higher dangers from traffic, cars, etc. but I have yet to an actual study with lifespan numbers, let alone the 3-5 yrs vs 10-15 I’ve seen bandied about.

I’m still looking for it as a lower lifespan sounds logical, but I’ve seen enough things defy apparent logic to not just accept the statement without supporting documentation.

Let me clear. I support in principle the statement that indoor cats live longer, I just haven’t found the proof for it yet.

Appreciate not getting a snarky comeback. My personal experience has been outdoor/indoor cats lead long, satisfying lives. But my experience could be an outlier which is why I asked for your source.

Will definitely give this a read once I’m done work. Again, much appreciated

Then can you quote your source for your statement? My experiential information is counter to your claim, so I would like to see your data so I can improve my understanding.

Growing up, (I’m in my 50s) we had an orange tabby that went indoors and outdoors as much as he wanted. The cat supplemented his kibble by killing and eating (confirmed by observation) birds and rodents in the area. He lived to be 23. Most cats like him that I’ve known all had lifespans into the high teens.

I think you mean feral, as opposed to outdoor. In which case I would agree with your statement.

I should add, that as an adult, I currently own two cats obtained from rescue services and both are exclusively indoor cats.