CAT: Converting an Indoor to an Outdoor

Question
Hello!  I have a 4 year old female house cat that has been in the family for most of her life.  She is fixed and vaccinated and has never been outside unsupervised.  She has not been declawed and has never been diagnosed with any health problems.  I feed her dry food and water and she does quite well on her own.  My boyfriend and I are ready to move in together, however, he is extremely allergic to the cat.  The property we are looking at is on 2 or 3 acres, and I want to put the cat outside to live.  There is not much resource material online about this issue.  The property is more country than anything, and there are ferral cats and raccoons that roam freely.  We have not seen any wild animals bigger than the cat, yet.  I have a collar and tags for her; I could get her flea treatments.  Would I be a horrible mommy for choosing to live with my boyfriend and putting my cat outside?

Answer
Eva  -

I do not think  you would be a horrible mommy, but I think you should reconsider putting an inside cat outside, especially on an area as big as two or three acres with raccoons and feral cats.  

Cats do not generally like change.  However, if you are truly interested in keeping you kitty outside, talk it over with your veterinarian.  He/she should know your cat much better than I do and should be able to give you insight on whether she would do well as an outside cat.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM