I gave him 14 months from the last time he was out. My vet even said to let him out.
(Interestingly, I think what he was really crying for is not space but height. In our old place, we could keep him indoors without complaint, but he’d climb onto the sill of the bathroom dormer window and sit there, ceiling height 3 stories off the ground and survey the neighborhood. Now I have a 1 story house. Now he’s always on the roof.)
Sometimes they don’t even do that - Stokie seems to figure that outside sucked donkey balls and inside is way better. He’s our only tamed feral cat and the only one who never even approaches the door. Dewey will try to sneak out (and once made it halfway up a tree) and Edison has considered it, but Stokie hides when the door opens.
Quite often outdoor cats are really just roamers that for whatever cat reason, decided to hit the road and check out their options. That doesn’t mean they’re unfamiliar with indoor living, or couldn’t readjust to it.
Sorry about your Tala. One can sure get attached to these furballs. And it’s impossible to walk past Hissy without stopping for a petting - amazingly soft fur.