Occassionally, my cats do get to go outside, but all three of them are trained to walk on a lead like a dog. My oldest boy started out as a barn cat and LOVES going outside, but he knows that he can only go out with a leash. He does - every once in a while - get out on his own. Luckily, most of the time we catch him in time, but once he was out all night. I freaked out the next morning, but he came when I called, thankfully.
I think it's easy to train cats like dogs, given enough time and patience. If you don't want your cats to go out at all, though, I would do like This_chicks_place suggests - make outside a scary place. My girl cat seems to think it is, and refuses to go out even if I want her to. I never worry about her getting out.
I only put collars on my cats when I'm taking them to the vet. I did have collars on two of my cats when they were younger, but they were constantly getting caught under the couch or on handles (from rubbing their bodies up against them) that I knew it just wasn't worth it.
I think it's easy to train cats like dogs, given enough time and patience. If you don't want your cats to go out at all, though, I would do like This_chicks_place suggests - make outside a scary place. My girl cat seems to think it is, and refuses to go out even if I want her to. I never worry about her getting out.
I only put collars on my cats when I'm taking them to the vet. I did have collars on two of my cats when they were younger, but they were constantly getting caught under the couch or on handles (from rubbing their bodies up against them) that I knew it just wasn't worth it.
