Especially if you shake it.
I’m not sure it’s their dreams for most of the domesticated ones, just survival and instinct. If they get enough food, play, cuddles & comfy spots, they seem quite happy. It would be a good life for many humans.
As for cat-on-cat violence, that screeching twirling that fighting cats do looks scarier than it is most of the time. I would still worry about infections and an errant claw damaging an eye.
Tonka’s outdoor privileges are being curtailed as of tomorrow.
He’d been pretty good about coming home when I called him, but the last few evenings I’ve had to go out and catch him. Tonight he came in his own good time, after dark, after I failed to track him down. Mrs. L.A. laid down the law. Outside privileges only in the morning, and when I’m home. Afternoon comes, the cats come in.
That’s not really fair to Creamsicle, as she was a stray before she adopted us. But once she figures out she’s staying in, she’s content to curl up and sleep.
Wise choice I think. Be prepared for some whining, but they’ll adjust.
My neighbor’s cat just disappeared and the missing posters on every light post are depressing.
Nicki, the Maine Coon, was acquired when she was (I thought) nearly grown. I did not recognize the breed and its size. She had been an in/out and her owner died on her.
She still (4.5 years later) is curious about outside. Where she is not allowed.
A few days ago, when she was tucked in, I adjusted the setting on the porch light. I left the door open for the 30 seconds I expected to need.
She bolted and decided that 00:15 was a good time to play ‘try to catch me’ - a game I was not going to play. She started her preferred route of ducking under cars. I called her in very un-playful terms, using the imperative ‘NOW’.
She thought this was a new variant of the game.
Them I deployed the garden hose. She decided it was time to come in and bolted at a fast trot, slinking with tail down.
That was the first time I ever swatted a cat hard enough to sting my hand. Yes, I know how to safely handle cats - I used to breed them.
She has stopped coming to the door when I leave, staying back about 8’.
I feel horrible about the swat, but I will not risk her outside.
We just spent a few hours curled up in bed together. We make a cute couple.
Yes. There are studies which reveal that most cat v cat action is noise and feints. Cats intuitively know that other cats are dangerous - sharp edges all around. So they challenge but avoid actual fights because these can be fatal.
Unfortunately some toms are aggressively territorial and never got the memo about caution. 
Still, as a cat owner for 30 years in a country where cats are in/outdoors, I’ve only had to treat half a dozen serious bites.
Well, I’m not one for swatting cats. Neither is the missus; but Tonka is a little afraid of her. He was urinating inappropriately (e.g., in her new slippers) when Creamsicle came to live with us, and ‘mom’ yelled at him and scruffed him. I suggested she try making nice, since he was acting out because he thought she was ignoring him. He’ll sit on the back of the chair where ‘mom’ sits, and his favourite place is on the ottoman at her feet. But he knows when she’s mad.
I’ve had to coax him, chase him, and corner him to bring him home in the evening. (The other night I happened to have just had some jerky. So when I had him cornered, I licked my fingers and tricked him into coming within reach. ‘Smell my finger!’ Heh.) The first time he stayed out too long, Mrs. L.A. spotted him across the street and said sternly, ‘Tonka! You get back here right now!’ He came running. Hasn’t worked recently, though. Neither has simply calling him nicely, as I do, which worked well before.
Your Tonka has learned the ‘game’ my Nicki thinks is hilarious.
One of the early ‘play sessions’ ended up with her being picked up by the tail. Since that incident, she has made sure to present a paw to grab.
Don’t let him turn this into a game.
If you are still going to let him out, maybe keep him in inside the next day if he doesn’t come when beckoned. Cats are smart enough to figure it out.
Maybe put up a hanging sign of some sort - when he is going to be let out, show one side, if he is going to be confined, flip it over.
If you have to chase him, make sure to flip the sign over while holding him and saying ‘bad kitty, no outdoor’.
Speaking of games…
Tonka has the funniest, fluffiest belly. He likes to be on his back with his hind legs curled up above him. It’s irresistible! But when I rub his belly, he things it’s a game and the claws come out at all points. ‘Mom’ can rub his belly, grab a hind leg and move it about, grab a foreleg and move it about, and he just lays there. He doesn’t think it’s a game until she touches his tail, which he seems a little sensitive about. The thing is, I’ve never played with him by going for his belly. Just petting. He’s getting better, and I can even do the leg thing sometimes; but I think he trusts ‘mom’ more than he does me.
Try laying your forearm in his tummy and playing with your hand. My cats love that and try to disembowel my arm. Which is what they would do in the natural world. There might be pain but they love it.
Oh, he likes to play! But I don’t care much for dripping my blood all over the house.
Well…
Tonka was acting weird last night. He was a bit slow going after a nice piece of beef fat. He refused a nice rare piece of meat afterward. Then he went to sleep on the bed. Not like him at all. He seemed a bit sluggish when I got up. Then he yawned. One of the fangs that earned him the name ‘Vampire Kitty’ was missing. I assume he got into a fight yesterday, and there’s a cat in the neighbourhood with a tooth stuck in its neck. 
Nurse L.A. checked him out when she got up. The right fang is gone, not broken, and there’s a scab in the socket. She tried the vet after work (early day), but the vet couldn’t see him. She was able to get antibiotics. Tonka seemed fine this afternoon, and he and Creamsicle were chasing each other. He’s back to his old self – minus a tooth.
Mrs. L.A. says she hasn’t decided if either one of them are going outside ever again. Creamsicle would be fine. She was a stray who adopted us, and has very good outdoor survival skills. She knows not to get into trouble. But Tonka, as sweet as he is, is a bit of a bully.
Aww. Poor baby. Maybe it wasn’t another cat, perhaps he got ahold of a particularly tough mouse. 
It takes a LOT to get a canine tooth out of a cat. Like a healthy tooth is nearly impossible for a vet to remove during a dental, without breaking the jaw (generally this is only attempted on a healthy tooth if it’s broken to the root or otherwise somehow compromised). Even a bad tooth that’s still got a good root is difficult to remove. Pretty much the only way for a cat’s canine tooth to fall out is for the root to go bad and rot out.
Luckily he’s seen his vet within 12 months and it was no big deal to Rx the antibiotics, and yeah, pretty much not something the doc needs to see him for - though do keep an eye out for discomfort as they can get dry socket like people. The scab present is good. I could see the doc wanting to take a look at some point soonish would be to make sure it’s healing well and to check the rest of his mouth to assess the need for a proper dental.
He may need to develop a callous on his lip/gums where the lower canine now might press where it didn’t before. You may see that more often in animals that lose all but one canine, but something to watch for. Sometimes that tissue getting pressure it didn’t get before, can look like an ulcer before it toughens up.
That’s why I mentioned the scab. 
Nurse L.A. has had a lot of cats, and she’s never had one lose a tooth. She suggested the same thing. She’s not a dentist, but she looked for inflammation on his gums. Didn’t see any. She saw some trauma to his upper lip; but now that you mention it, it might be from his lower tooth making a start on that callous.
We take care of the cats, and they go to the vet about once or twice a year. I hate to think we’re missing dental issues. But I also hate to think Tonka is getting into fights. (He’s a bully, but the fights seem to be mostly verbal.)
As they say, life imitates art.
The universe is trying to tell you in a gentle sort of way (you have to go searching to find him, he shows back up next time missing a tooth…) that this is not meant to be an outside cat. Please stop letting him out; it’s just a matter of time before he doesn’t come back at all. He’s not gaining anything by being out there.
Except happiness. He’s been a lot happier since he’s been going out.
Sounds like you need some sort of kitty enclosure out there. Our three love being outside but they’re only allowed on the balcony, which has wire mesh ziptied to the railing. One of us is pretty much always out there with them to ensure they don’t get any ideas about going over the railing.