I'm so glad you found another way that's good for the cat AND for you.
I had a post on here a while ago (I think there was some pruning done) about a cat who I witnessed get hit by a car, and the driver left. I was so upset. If I was that upset by a cat getting hit, I couldn't imagine seeing a person.
Anyway, the cat was badly hurt. Money wasn't available at the time to pay for what that cat needed.
I did bring it to the closest vet, and relenquished legal control/ownership, even though it wasn't mine to begin with (I guess because I was the one who brought it in).
Long story short, the manager of the hospital pretty much fell in love with the cat and adopted it. Paid for all the surgeries she needed, and so the cat had a good home. I was lucky to get to see the cat all the time, as I got a job there shortly after.
Not everyone would go to the extreme this woman did to save that cat, but it's just such a nice story that I had to share it.
Cats are not "just animals" to me. My cat is my companion and my friend to me. She looks directly at me when meowing as if to convey a specific message. She knows to come sit by me on my couch or in bed when I pat the space next to me. She know how to tell me things by her actions, and I even pick up that she has certain meows for certain things.
I got her when she was a year old at the MSPCA shelter, and she's now. She's now going on 13 years this year
(sorry, I tend to ramble a lot)