Ya know, things like this just tick me off to no end what so ever! I was in the same situation as you last summer, there was a cat that stayed around our house but back at the edge of the woods, eventually it came up closer and closer and I earned it's trusts. It'll let me pet it, give it kisses and all tat, but the minute I tried picking it up and putting it in a carrier to get her to the vet, she went NUTS! I was so heart broken and actually cried cause I felt so bad for her and wanted to get her seen by our vet and get her the meds she needed. No way was she having any part of the carrier though. So, I called my vet, canceled the appointment I had made for her. (Oh by the way, I named her Squeeker cause she can't meow either, it sounds like a lil squeek so that's how she got her name.) I talked to my vet and told him about the gunk in her eyes, how she can't meow and how horribly skinny she was. He let me come in and pic up meds for her without seeing her (thank God!) Over the next month to month and a half, I'd put her meds on her food a few times daily and stand there to make sure she ate it all. (Canned cat food was GREAT for this!) I asked around and no one here seems to know who she belongs to, so, I decided to try and take the best care of her as I could and just keep feeding her. I so wanted to bring her inside and make her and inside cat, but I'm really afraid she would hurt my cat I already have inside as this cat may be a farrel cat. Over the course of the summer, we fattened her up and we went out and bought a big rubbermaid container with a lid, tipped it upside down and cut an opening in one end and laid a comforter in it for her. We put it under the front porch and then got those plastic runners and put all across the top of the porch over the wood to keep any rain from leaking down through. Then when winter got her, we went and got bails of straw or hay, I always get them confused, lol. Anyhow, we put the bails around the rubbermaid container and left an opening where she can go in and out, this kind of insulated things and helps to keep the wind and stuff off of her. Perhaps you could do something like this with the cat you found? If the vet says meds and TLC, fresh food and water will bring her back around and save her life, I'd give it a try. Granted, it does still break my heart that she won't let me get her into the carrier and to the vet, but at least now I know she isn't starving to death and I tell her each and every day how much I love her, and I really do, even though she isn't mine rightfully. When it gets so cold out, I always put my coat on and go our and make sure she's in her lil box, if she isn't there, I go through the woods looking for her, normally I just yell Squeeker and she comes running
Oh and one day she actually MEOWED to!! I was so happy. Maybe that cat will get her meow back if she can get some treatment and some help to get better? I know how your heart breaks though, I cannot stand to see an animal suffer either. if the vet says there's nothing that can be done for this cat, the most loving thing you could do for him or her is help him or her to heaven. You have to love them enough to let them go and know they'll find peace on the other side. I know it's hard, but for me, it'd be so much more hard to see them suffer knowing there was nothing that could be done for them to help their quality of life. As for if you're rightfully allowed to take the cat and have it humanely put down if that's what needs to be done, I don't know, but look at it this way, if it had an owner that actually cared, that cat wouldn't be laying there in that shape now would it? Yes, there's always the possibility that the cat got out and got lost, but 9 times out of 10, it's a stray that no one wants or someone dumped off. Maybe if you could get it the help it needed and it could get better, perhaps you could keep him or her and make it an inside cat? Or, possibly find it a good loving forever home. No, we can't save them all, but we can sure make a world of difference in one animals life at a time when it's placed in our paths in life. Please keep us updated and I'll keep this cat in my thoughts and prayers.