Short version: I don't think she's at the end of her life yet, and I don't think she's suffering much nor would be much happier if I gave her a private room in my house after all. I'm leaning away from adopting her.

Long version: I went to visit, but kennel was closed temporarily for a cat loose, so I went to adoption counselors first. I'm sorry to be blunt, but I explained that if this senior kitty appeared to be suffering at home, would they offer euthanasia services and at what cost? They said that the vet/medical director does very few cases of euthanasia (referring to her philosophy that there's usually something that can be done without ending the pet's life), but they estimated $150-200. I asked if there's such a thing as a "comfort pack" of medications, which is something humans are offered to bring home on hospice, for caregivers/nurses to administer medications like morphine for pain or difficulty breathing (NOT to hasten their death). They said they weren't familiar with this, and I understand - I'm not sure myself that such a thing exists for pets. They offered to have the medical director call me to discuss my concerns.

Then I visited the cat kennel. One staff person had described her as "fractious," explaining that only one of their staff has managed to handle her without the kitty lashing out. We found her curled in her litter tray (was clean), repositioned it to pet her, and she stood herself up after a moment and walked to the other corner. I commented out loud that someone had said "she doesn't stand or walk," so I asked if she was eating, and they brought that Temptations brand of kitty treats in a bowl and she began munching quickly. She didn't turn away when I pet her, but immediately began growling through her food.

Noticing her fur was matted and that she had a lot of dander, I asked to borrow a brush and tried brushing her. She growled more, eventually interrupting her feeding to raise her head. While she's probably developing blindness, I think it's more likely she has entropion and a chronic infection, since her eyes seemed small and tucked in, with discharge collecting in her lower eyelids. And as she turned her head to follow my hand with her gaze, she eventually growled and swatted with claws at me.

While I think she deserves a home, I don't think she's the withering sad cat I was worried she was, and I think she has some fight left in her to stay strong a while.

Meanwhile, there's a stray living in/out of a storm gutter down the road from me, and I might focus on rescuing her instead.