equal rights

I've been leaving my cavalier in a good size cage during the day while I'm at work and wonder if it's OK to leave her out in the house now that she's over a year old. I worry about her eating something that would be bad for her. She doesn't get into anything while I'm at home. My cat is never confined to a crate or a leash and Nalu wants equal rights. I wish she could earn them. I worry so much about her getting into trouble.

I don't think I could leave mine in a crate all day. I would worry all day if they were alright. When they were puppies I used to leave them in a crate for an hour and then worry if they were ok. Everytime I got home they were snuggled up fast asleep.lol. Can you not leave her in the garden or yard, if you are not comfortable leaving her in the house? As long as it's secure and she can't get out.
I do leave my two in the house when I go out but I am only ever out for an hour or so. I always make sure that all the doors are closed to the rooms and that they cannot get into anything, like electrical cords etc. I don't leave anything lying around that they could get. I am paranoid about safety. Everywhere is tiled so if they had an accident it would be ok. We also have a doggy door to the outside so they can go out if they want to. Every time I get home they are fast asleep on either the sofa or chair! I have never had a problem leaving them in the house. But I guess having two they are company for each other.

Yes, I would let her out.
Just push all chairs in against the table to stop her climbing,put down some newspapers for toiletting in case of accidents and give her lots of safe chewtoys...have a look around the room and imagine what she could climb on or eat.Then, make it safe.

Sins

Why not confine her to one part of the house and then make sure that part is safe? The kitchen is probably the safest, in that the cables for washing machines, fridges etc are usually hidden by the machine, the floor is easy to clean, and you can keep stuff out of reach on shelves, in cupboards etc. But I must say all my Cavaliers have simply gone to sleep when left - they do sleep a lot of the day anyway. Even now I have two, if I have to take one out and leave the other alone, they still have a snooze. If your Cavalier is used to a crate, you might well find that if you left her loose with the crate door open, she would probably curl up in the crate anyway; Oliver often chooses to sleep in his crate even when he has a choice of dog bed, easy chair or sofa!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

I would leave her out. I think one year old is too old to be spent cooped up in a crate. Just close all the doors to rooms that you wouldn't want her to be in, make sure she has plenty of toys, push all the chairs in like Sins talked about, etc. How long are you gone? Does she need someone to come take her for a walk or just break up her day so she's not bored?

Maybe you could give Nalu a trial run for a few hours on a weekend while you run some errands, or when you go out at night and see how she does. She might sit by the door and wait for you to come back!

I started letting mine out of their crates and into a confined space (one room) sometime before a year and then they had the run of the house shortly after they turned a year. To be honest, I imagine they all sleep or sit and stare out the windows when I am gone. Even though three of mine are older, I still keep crates around the house with the doors open and I still find them sleeping in them. Madison, who is 7+ still chooses to sleep in a crate at night (with the door open).