To live or to die?

Today i was thinking about a cat. Not just any cat, Panther. Panther was the most beautiful cat, black as night with peircing green eyes. He got me thinking of a moral situation that i couldn't pick a side on, this is unusual for me because i am a very opinionated person. His 'owners' never let him in the house, never fed him, never gave him love, they only liked to claim the cat once someone tried to take the cat away. I took a liking to Panther from the start, he needs love and attention just like every other living being. He craved it, he lived for it. I pet him one time and i stole his heart. He memorized my work schedule and would wait by the door of our house whenever i would leave for work, or get home from work. Just to get the attention that he needed to survive. He was the definition of a wild cat, he was very timid and completely untrainable. He would never be able to live in a home, he was too used to being a wild cat. All through the winter i waited and waited for his owners to give him some kind of shelter from the snow, he would come up into my arms with icicles hanging from his fur, But he was alive. He seemed to enjoy hunting for mice in the field by our house. The moral question that popped into my head was this, is it better to call Animal control where they would come and take him to almost certain death, because he would never pace the temperament test. Or was it better to let him live. Live like a wild cat with no love, or shelter. I always wanted to make the call, to get him help, but at the same time i knew i would be sending him to death row. Is it better to let someone live in pain? Or would it be better to let them go to a better place?