I am also in the UK, and let my bengal out during the day. She has been going out since she was 8 months old, and is now 11 months, so not long, but so far it is going very well.
I let my previous two rescue cats out during the day for their whole lives. One lived to 19, the other died of HCM at 8 3/4, so going outdoors was not a factor in their lifespan. I understand most outdoor cat deaths in the UK happen at night, because they can get dazzled by car headlights and freeze. One of my cats did get bitten by another cat, but antibiotics prevented any problems from resulting.
I was quite worried though about letting my bengal out, even though it was really my preference for her because personally I think it's right for cats, and especially fairly recently wild-derived cats, to be able to do cat stuff in the great outdoors. I consulted the vet and vet nurses every time we went in for the spaying (my vet includes two follow up appts, so three visits in all), and to get FeLV added to her jabs, with different questions.
One of the vets turned out to be specialising in cat well-being, and, for what it's worth, she said the evidence is that outdoor cats have a much better quality of life.
I asked about theft. My kitten is so friendly, I could see someone just scooping her up and making off with her. She is clearly not a regular cat; I've already had one unfamiliar person say admiringly, whilst calling at my house and seeing her behind me, Oh she's one of those special ones, she looks like a leopard. She has amazing glitter that is always visible. The vet said that actually in their experience it was working dogs that were getting stolen, and not cats or other dogs. As it turns out, my kitten is much more cautious outdoors than in. She runs indoors as soon as anyone appears. And she's fast! It's amazing to see her sprint across the grass, like a micro cheetah.
I watched her like a hawk in the beginning. She stays much closer to home than I expected, which is good. My situation sounds closer to that of your boyfriend than your mum, and my house is along a footpath, so that allays road worries a fair bit.
She absolutely loves being outside. She loves climbing on all the pergolas and arches in the garden, and scales trellising as if it was designed just to be a cat-sized ladder. In fact she's a bit of a spidey-cat, and takes routes I've never seen a cat attempt before, climbing vertically up fences and an ancient brick wall. Now that it's spring she is having a fantastic time chasing flying insects, keeping watch on birds' nests (luckily mostly well-placed by the birds in thorny things) and playing stalk and pounce in the long grass. She gets very excited about helping with watering the pots, (re)directing the water, and climbing into the big pots and ending up paddling in watery compost whilst she sticks her paw into the water stream.
She is so incredibly happy to be out there, making her 'This is so much fun' sounds so much, and running back in to jump on me in evident delight. She likes it best when we're both out there, but she is slowly gaining in confidence and staying out for more than 30 seconds at a time (where she started, again to my surprise given her considerable confidence otherwise). She comes to find me as soon as she gets in, and I encourage that.
England is pretty safe on the whole (no real predators, no rabies, no assumption that a cat outdoors is a stray that needs rescuing etc) and cats love the outdoors, it's what they're designed for. I realise there is a bit of a cultural divide between the UK and the US on this issue. In the end I felt it wasn't fair to reduce my cat's quality of life for her whole life just to save myself some worry, which is really what it amounted to. Yes, there is some risk, but I think the benefits hugely outweigh those. I think the risk of theft is almost certainly much less than we fear, and any incidents are more likely to be due to bengal curiosity (getting themselves accidentally shut in a shed for instance) or bengal acrobatics. My kitten fell off the pergola early on, but of course landed on her feet. She has also been stung by a bee: the flying and the buzzing were just too irresistible! But both of those things could have happened indoors too, to be fair (a fall from a cat tree, a bee getting in through a small open window).
You might find that Amara behaves differently once she is spayed, and not in the grip of her hormones, seeking a mate. She may be more cautious for instance.
Everyone must decide for themselves; it's a personal choice. I completely understand why some people choose to keep their cats indoors. There are valid arguments for both options. But no one in the UK would dream of keeping a moggie in, unless it was medically necessary. Bengals deserve the same enriched environment, imo.
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