Lugum's Jigidi advent event - Ended

Letting them outside is a mixed bag for me, we also generally keep our cats indoors.
Cats insitinctively want to be aware of their surroundings, to keep watch around the house (their living space), thats why they like to sit in windows or vantage points and look outside. Without opportunities like this and places in the house where they could climb/jump up and look around, they feel uneasy.
They seek freedom and always look for opportunities to venture outside. So if possible, a little, closed area outisde (by fences or wires they cant climb out of) in a garden or terrace, might be a good idea. They will get the stimuli they need. They can eat grass (and also vomit outside as a consequence, which is a nice bonus since you dont have to clean it up) and watch animals like birds and insects, without the danger of either harming the other (I would protect birds from my cats, but would protect my cats from swallowing a bumblebee or wasp for eg.).
The problem we had with our cats that we let outside and roam free, is manifold. The most important is that these cats never lived for too long. :( They are in and of themselves natural troubleseekers. They are predators, its in their genes. They provoke dogs if they think no harm could be done to them (they do miscalculate on occasion), they can be ran over by cars, but far worse is when in the neighbourhood, ill willed individuals kill them. We had cats disappear without a trace, others came home either beaten to near-death (one of them, according to the vet, had their spine shattered to pieces; which made the fact that this poor little soul crawled to the doorstep with the last ounce of his strength to die home, even more heartbreaking), others were either intentionally or unintentionally poisoned.
And even if they dont die, they could bring home diseases, which they then spread to the other cats or worse yet, carry fleas and ticks, which could also climb on us, humans.
The only exception we had in the last 10 years was a special cat. We called her "Málna" (menaing "Raspberry") and she was adopted by us after her former owner had enough of her. She was a cat unlike any we had in my 30 years. She was cuddly and nice at one minute, in the next she bites, claws and attacks the other cats and even us, unprovoked, without a seeming reason! She was also way more desperate to escape the house. Also, she was the only(!) cat ever to climb on our christmas tree.
Experiencing her behaviour that was unusual even for me and my cat-obsessed family with a lifetime of experience, despite havin our fair share of cats with behaviour-issues, eventually we let her go outside completely free, also despite our history with outdoor cats.
And it proved to be the right choice for once, it calmed her significantly. From then on, she was much easier to handle and less agressive towards us. But we did not let her to the other cats. Her shelter was a greenhouse-like terrace with some fluffy cathouse. At winters, we let her sleep in the heated entrance hall of the house, which was closed by another door from the rest of the household, ensuring she dont cause trouble. Also, her mouse catch rate was comparatively very high. Our previous cats rarely caught any prey. We had about half a dozen outdoor cats before her time and Málna delivered more mice to the doorstep than the other cats combined. She was the most efficient vermin-control we ever seen. :) In the neighbourhood there was a car mechanic's workshop. He and his assistants occasionally fed her little pieces of meat, taken from their own lunch, because she took care of their long standing mouse-problem and practically exterminated and/or drove away the swarm of rodents around the workshop.
Once a friend of mine, who've got a masters degree in biology, an incredibly passionate and super knowledgable animal enthusiast, visited our home. Upon inspecting Málna, hearing about her behaviour he asked me: What do we know about her ancestry? I answered that not much, she was the kitten of an average outdoor housecat, nothing is known about her father. And then he asked: Is she possibly a hybrid?
And I was like, a hybrid of what? He suggested: a hybrid of a house cat and a european wildcat.
And with that, suddenly all the pieces fell into place. Looking up some pictures of these wildcats, I've found that Málna surely resembled them a lot! More so than any housecat I've encountered ever. It explained her uncontrollable nature and rebellious demeanor, her wild tendencies, everything. That revelation really opened our eyes.
Sadly, a few years ago one day, she went outside, like everyday, but never came home. Disappeared without a trace. She was about 5-6 years old, so she surely did not die of old age. Whatever happened to her, i hope she is either fine, living in a new place, or in case she died, I hope she did not suffer much! Whatever the case, I will vividly remember her for we never had such special cat ever.
Whew, sorry for the long wall of text! Most of what I said is an anecdotal experience of mine, but I thought it could add to the conversation and provide some suggestions as to what could be your mother's reason for keeping the cats inside.

View attached image.