roaming cat.

Question
hello there,
I have a male cat, who is neutered. we stay in a very hilly area in Pune(india) every rainy season, the hill turns  green and big flowers bloom everywhere. its like a big jungle for a small cat.my cat insists on spending atleast two to three hours there. usually, he is an indoor cat, but turns into this roaming monster every rainy season. no matter what we do, he manages to find a way outside.yesterday, he came back home after six hours. we were very worried and now we are determined not to let him out. please give any guidelines to help us keep him indoors, without making him miserable. also, is it ethical to keep any cat indoors? some of my relatives comment that it is cruel to do so. please help.

Answer
Hello Sakshi!

I never let any of my cats outside. Your cat will live longer staying in.  There is the risk of disease, harm from other animals and being hit by a car if they are left outside to roam.  It sounds like your cat loves the the rainy season because of all the wonderful flowers and as you said "mini-jungle" effect.  It is going to be very hard to keep him in after he has had a taste of being outside!  Since my cats have never been outside, they don't want to go.  But yours has had a taste of the great outdoors, and I fear you are going to have a hard time keeping him in.  I honestly don't know what to tell you.  If you try to make him stay in, I'm afraid he will try to run out the door every time someone opens it.  If he is vaccinated against disease and the area you live is not heavily traveled by automobiles, then if it were me , I would probably let him go outside since he enjoys it so much.  I normally would not advise this, but I'm afraid he will be miserable if you try to keep him inside.  You have already stated that "no matter what you do " he manages to get outside.  I'm afraid he is bound to go to the "jungle" and you may just have to let him!  I know this is not much help, but I am at a loss here.
Good luck and God bless!
Becky