Truman didn't exactly make a good first impression. The tiny, black-and-white kitten, not even 12 weeks old, walked with a pronounced limp and could barely keep his eyes open. John met Truman early one morning on the street outside his workplace in McAllen, Texas, before the traffic and the pedestrians presented any dangers to the injured cat. Meowing desperately, Truman plopped himself in front of John.

John's first call was to the local Humane Society. Given the kitten's apparent broken leg, the society wasn't certain it could find a new home for the cat. Euthanasia was a distinct possibility.

So for the first time in his adult life, John was a pet owner. He took the kitten to a veterinarian, who said that other than a broken leg and a patch of missing fur, the animal was healthy. John named his new companion Truman, mostly because he liked the sound of it.

Sharing his space was an adjustment for John, particularly since Truman followed him wherever he went in the apartment, including the shower where the cat would perch on the tub's ledge. "From the beginning, he was a very affectionate cat. He wanted to be right where I was," John recalls.

Truman and John shared an apartment in a complex at the end of a circle. The complex had a courtyard, and nearby was a vast field. The only traffic in the area were the cars that ventured down the sleepy circle. John felt comfortable enough to let Truman roam the neighborhood.

Their lifestyle patterns had clearly been established more than two years later when John and Truman moved to Houston, where John had taken a job at a newspaper. Their new living space and neighborhood were different, though: They lived in a four-plex in the mid-town section of Houston, near shops and restaurants and retail stores that attracted people and their cars.

John allowed Truman to roam outside from the beginning, but he would usually accompany him. He thought the cat might need a guide. After a while, after John and Truman became comfortable with their new neighborhood, John allowed the cat to roam while he was at work. "I figured he was alone in the apartment a lot, and he was getting heavier," John remembers. "He wanted to go out, so I figured it was good for him. It would enhance his life."

That's when the complications began for Truman. First it was an infection, then difficulties urinating. Once the vet solved these problems, another more troubling one arose: Truman was peeing outside the litter box—on clothes, on magazines, anything on the floor. Another trip to the vet seemed to remedy the problem—until John went away for the weekend. When he returned, he discovered Truman had peed just about everywhere: on chairs, the bed, practically every available surface. John was at a loss. He asked the vet if he should keep Truman outside most of the time, and unfortunately the vet agreed.

Underneath a covered area near his back door, John created an outdoor living space for Truman. He put a bed, blankets, food and water there. When John was home, the two would still spend their evenings together, usually with Truman curled up on John's lap. But at night when John went to bed, Truman went back outside. And so it went for five months.

Until the day John came home from work and saw what looked like a black-and-white cat lying in the street near his apartment. "The first thing I thought was 'Why is this cat lying in the road?'" John says. The cat was Truman, lying in a puddle of his own blood. John picked him up; he was still warm. More blood poured from the cat's mouth. Truman was dead.

"It was a big loss, a loss of a good, constant companion, a sweet cat," John says. "You kind of get into that rhythm with that creature, and that creature is gone...."

John's thoughts trail off.

John's story is unfortunately not that unusual. One 1997 survey* indicated that only 35% of America's 66 million domesticated cats live indoors full time. That means more than 40 million felines roam the country, and that estimate doesn't include stray and feral cats. Given that massive roaming population, combined with Americans' busy lifestyle, there are literally tens of millions of chances daily for more accidents like the one that befell Truman. But that's not the only complication. Free-roaming cats can pick up diseases, suffer attacks from humans and other animals, and sometimes starve. They are also predators, killing millions of small mammals annually.

That's where The HSUS's Safe Cats Campaign can help. The campaign is designed to help you keep your cat safe and healthy by creating an indoor environment that's both interesting and comfortable to your feline.

Education is the key here. According to that same 1997 survey, while a majority of Americans let their cats roam, more than 40% of those people say they would keep their felines indoors if it would be healthier and safer for the cat. And 49% say they would keep their cats indoors if it were beneficial to wildlife.

The Safe Cats Campaign hopes to make quick converts of those open-minded cat owners. And maybe the campaign can even prevent a few owners from suffering a loss like John's.

*Telephone survey conducted for the American Bird Conservancy by Marketing and Research Resources, Inc. A total of 752 interviews were conducted with both cat owners and non-cat owners.

Generous support for the Safe Cats campaign was provided by The Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust, a KeyBank Trust, and the Frances V.R. Seebe Trust.