If you can modify your house to have a fancy cat door you should just go all the way and build a catio.
Granted, I do all of this and my cat (a gift from the pandemic someone dumped on the side of a mountain for me to find, despite not wanting to be a pet owner, thanks humans!) still manages to find a way to sleep on equipment I don't want to have to replace...
Edit: typo
For construction, we did a two by four frame with welded wire covering it. The welded wire is very secure but still allows a nice view, and is pretty cheap. If you have a Tractor Supply store near you in US) they have it.
I wonder what the effect on average human lifespan might be if people were routinely confined to assisted-living facilities for the duration of their adult lives. How many additional years might one gain if you faced no physical risks and experienced regular medical monitoring and treatment? Somehow I doubt many people would opt for that lifestyle, regardless.
Perhaps this is why I like cats, though I've never wanted to own one (they keep showing up in my life anyway, via housemates and partners): they seem like independent beings, tolerant of humans for the services they provide, but pursuing their own interests; wild creatures, only pretending to be domesticated.
I've yet to meet the cat who loves indoor life so much they won't bolt for the door if it's left open.
https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-o... which cites University research.
So, a better analogy would be if you would be willing to die at age 25 instead of 75 just so you can base jump and free climb every day. Most people wouldn't like that trade-off even if it is more fun in the moment.
Not to mention the happiness of the 2 billion birds killed by domestic cats each year. Remember that even though domestic cats can and do survive as wild animals, their population is greatly inflated by human activity. We're responsible for that imbalance in the food chain and should keep our pets away from the rest of the wildlife. We feed our cats and then if they go outside they basically kill birds for fun.
I'd much rather my cat play with toys. It's very easy to keep a house cat happy without putting them and prey animals. They already spend the majority of the day sleeping. Play with your cats for a couple of times a day, provide some solid toys that they can play on their own with, and give them loving attention and they'll be quite happy.
I agree that they’re mini serial killers and have an impact on local ecosystems, but let’s be honest, in most cities, the local ecosystem is just full of invasives (rats, pigeons etc.).
Ultimately look at what your cat prefers and let it do what it wants. That’s the only way to ensure longevity.
The problem is that humans are invasive; stockpiling rubbish, building grain silos, and creating environments where rats and mice can hide and not be caught by natural predators.
If you live in a country where wildcats, or other larger predators, are indigenous, then I don't see the problem in letting them outside.
Where I live on the country side cats hunting mice and rat is like the first or second argument for having them when speaking to the owners. Of my 6 neighbors, three have cats, so I don't have to though.
When I lived in the city, the cat owners were complaining the cats caught mice, not bragging. But city houses also take damage from mice, so I guess it might be a mindset thing.
Farmers militantly oppose any attempt to get rid of cow bells though. Some claim that they aren't an issue for the animals, some whine about "traditions" getting endangered (which is even worse IMHO, to torture animals despite knowing better just because it looks good - ffs we managed to ban breeding of dogs and cats that we know to suffer), and others whine that they can't find escaped cows (just as ridiculous, even the 500g of a small cowbell is enough for a year-long battery and RF sender...) [2].
[1] https://www.schweizerbauer.ch/tiere/milchvieh/sind-glocken-f...
[2] https://www.fr.de/panorama/tierschuetzer-fordern-verbot-kuhg...