and she has a grand time. It can be done.

Now I have a former alley cat who makes her own rules - comes and goes as she pleases. I do go outside with her and as she's gotten older she stays closer to me, but it's not always a given that I can coax her back.

I just find the word "supervise" when used in regards to cats somewhat optimistic.

In 1994 when I was in grad school in Athens, Georgia, a neighbor's dog chased another neighbor's cat up a huge old pine tree in my backyard. I just happened to be out back and saw it happen. The little ankle biter strutted around the tree a few times, pissed on it, then left. The neighbor's kids came over and asked for help retrieving their cat. I assured them the cat knew how to come down and would report for dinner as soon as he was ready.

The cat stayed in the tree for nineteen days, without food or water. Every day the neighbor kids begged the cat to come down. No dice. We put food and water under the tree, to no avail. We called the Fire Dept, and the power and telephone companies. Nope. We tried to scare the cat down. I hired an arborist to climb the tree, but he moved among the branches with safety conscious deliberation, while the kitty simply ran circles around him.

I was there to see the cat fall on day nineteen. I heard him yowl and begin crashing through the outer canopy foliage. He hit the ground hard, but he jumped right up and ran away. I never saw him again.