Tragedy hit us on Tuesday...might review our indoor/outdoor routine

Hi,

We got two lovely kittens (2 brothers) 7 months ago, both turned 9 months on 28th November. We had both of them neutered, vaccinated etc as soon as possible and introduced them to our garden at about 4 months old for very short period of times and always supervised.

However, Mr.T and Biskits soon became more explorative and started to wander to our neighbors' garden and in the neighboring fields - never very far though, maybe due to being neutered. we were a bit worried for their safety at the start but became more relaxed about it as they seemed to always be within a few minutes of the house. My husband and i both work during the day out of the house, so the two lads would stay indoor and get around an hour of fresh air and exercise in the evening... They would both come back after a few minutes when called and would stay in for the night then.

All was well until last Tuesday. I put both Mr.T and Biskit out as usual around 5pm. Biskit came back as normal after 30 minutes but no sign of Mr.T. he would however always have been the longest out though... however, when he didn't come back by the time we were finished for the night, we were starting to get seriously worried... to cut a long story short, my husband found him by the side of a little country road not far from the house, the following day - he had been knocked down by a car.

We have been heartbroken since, and Biskit seems to be looking for his brother around the house or by the window. I think we learned the hard way and will now keep Biskit indoor as much as possible and only bring him outside on a leash, if it's not too late for him to get used to it... i still believe cats are happier when left outdoor but the dangers might be too high for their own good. Mr.T was so much part of our family we are so sad..