My cats are inside my house 24 hours a day, all year. I never let them outside. But I don't allow them upstairs or places like the couch because they'd destroy it. I keep them in my semi finished basement, where they always have warmth, cool in the summer, food, water and a litter. Someone started telling me a few years back that it was wrong for me to keep someone in my basement like that. I told them they are cats, not a crazy uncle. It would be cruel to keep a crazy uncle in the basement. My cats love it there.
I found myself in the same position a few years ago. A finished basement. With furniture etc. The 2 cats loved it down there. We would watch TV down there in the evenings and cuddle with them etc. They had set their own limits and would not come upstairs on their own . They were content just watching the birds and chipmunks running around outside from the windows.
