It really depends on the cat. My lazy lap cat couldn't be paid enough to go outside! I've actually tried, with a yard and on a leash, and she just doesn't like it. Home is where the cuddles and the predictability are, and that's what she likes. Keep in mind, even if they're not as docile as dogs, these are still domestic animals. They're adapted for a somewhat less wild lifestyle. And some are domestic to the point where they genuinely have no interest in the great frontier, so to speak. All Pia wants is cuddles, food, and warm. None of those things are guaranteed outside, so outside holds little appeal to her. It's just a big ball of unpredictable, as far as she's concerned!
And that's the other thing: there are safer ways to let a cat out than to simply let them roam in the streets, eating whatever poison might be around or getting hit by cars. Some cats really take to leash walks (I had a cat who loved it). If you have a yard, balcony, or patio, you can cat-safe it and let them out there.
Either of those solutions will prevent the tragedy you just watched with your friend.
As someone else said, free-roaming cats usually die very young and traumatically. It's not fair to them to let them suffer like that, in a world that isn't friendly for them. They're not fully wild critters with a habitat. They're domestics living in human societies, thousands of miles from where their wild ancestors evolved, and they don't have a safe niche in nature, nor are they as well-equip for independent survival as their wild cousins. That's just the reality of the matter.
We can think it's unfair that we've made creatures with reduced ability to be independent and live on their own terms (and I actually do think it's unfair -- if I could wave a magic wand and give all domestics the survival ability to freely decide if they'll be with humans, I would), but the fact is that they're here whether anyone likes it or not, and we need to look after them.
So, I hear what you're saying. But the reality is that many cats genuinely prefer indoors, and outdoor roaming domestics suffer terribly in many cases, and often die when they're still in their youths.
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I've had 7 cats in my life so far and they all have been indoor only. They are very happy and they don't even try to get outside. On my drive to work I see cats dead on the road almost everyday. I would never let a cat outside unless it was on a leash or in an enclosure, it's just to dangerous.
