i got it outside and it was actually frisky and happy and very docile and well behaved. it's a young cat - not a tiny kitten but young. it doesn't seem to have fleas, but it may have roach bites and it needs to get to a rescue and i got it to one.
i've been torn all night about this. what's upsetting me is that i got the cat to trust me and i'm sure it did trust me and i'm contemplating whether i broke that trust.
when i got the cat out of the vent, i took it to the sun room, fed it some chicken and gave it some water and gave it some human attention, which it craved. the cat was crawling over me in a few minutes and crawled right up into my lap to go to sleep. it's been through a lot and i can tell it was just happy to be safe for the first time in weeks.
the cat instantly started following me everywhere. i get it. but it's not exactly what i want in life. still, it broke my heart enough that i kind of said ok about it. then i opened the door and it instantly ran into the upstairs unit, which was home until the crackheads got evicted. i let it go, i let it take a run through, and it saw for itself what the truth is - it's all gone. i went up to get it and it followed me back down.
the humane society then showed up to take it away. at that point, i wasn't sure i wanted them to take it away anymore.
of course, it's the right thing to do. i may be able to give the cat attention now, but i can't nurse a starving cat back to health. i googled it and it's not as easy as just feeding it. you can kill it by overfeeding it. i can't really afford a cat, either. i certainly can't afford all the vet costs.
what i was able to give the cat - trust and friendship - is arguably more important to the cat.
i just sent them a follow-up - the cat needs care and will be better off with somebody with the resources. that is in the best interests of the cat.
however, i didn't save this cat's life to have it euthanized.
i asked them to call me if the cat is not quickly adopted. i'll take it. i'll figure it out. that's fine.