plus, around here, there are fox, coyote, Fisher cat and other things that will kill a cat. Outdoor cats are lucky to live more than a couple years outdoors here.
same here.Mine are all inside but I do walk them on a leash with a harness. I live in farm country and there are lots of animals that will eat Cats like Coyotes and Foxes, or fight with them like Raccoons. There are also some people in the area who do not like Cats on their property and will shoot them or let their Dogs attack them.
You can cover the wire with something like mosquito netting and that will go a long way to preventing birds from getting tangled in it. Yeah it will obstruct the view a bit, but if you're in an area with a lot of birds of prey it's probably worth it.W Willowy have you considered this for the catio cover - put in Amazon search -
Origin Point Garden Zone 36 Inches x 25 Feet 20-Gauge Poultry Netting with 1-Inch Openings
we used it for second story windows and dividing door.
the only bad thing is you may have to disentangle an owl or hawk's feet from it. However, the only solution that will prevent that is solid wood or plastic.