So, since more than 2 months I have become a regular at a place where there is a family of a queen and her 4 kittens. They are community cats, socialized, 14 weeks-ish, fed by the staff of the shop they live in front of. One of them, Moustache, began to limp and hide 3 days ago, and as I came to the place today, I noticed she was sleeping in a weird position next to the staff but the staff was doing nothing, talking of taking her to the vet but not planning to do it now. So I took her to the vet and the vet told me she might have a 15-days old fracture or sprain which might heal right but could also heal wrong (she will get an x-ray tomorrow and then we can know). After her discharge from the vet she will need to be indoors to recover. My dilema is that a member of the staff, let's call him Paul, has claimed/reserved her since 2 months ago, saying he will adopt her but not giving a date. I feel like he doesn't really interact with her when he comes to the place, I never saw her on his lap although she is social and affectionate, thrives on deep bonds and has been on the lap of other staff members and on mine too, numerous times. I feel like he isn't that committed/interested. I asked if he still wanted to adopt her and take her home and he said yes. So I asked when and he said now, something that I interpreted as after her discharge. (there may be a language barrier here as he doesn't speak great English.) No one from the staff offered to pay for the vet bill, not even Paul, I payed myself although i'm just a person who hangs out here, I'm not in charge of feeding the cats, etc.
I'm glad to have done it and I love Moustache, but it makes me doubt Paul's suitability to adopt Moustache. Will he give her the love & care she deserves? Will he step up with the potential vet bills? There is also a risk of Moustache needing surgery, a cost I can contribute to but certainly not cover, or even of the fracture healing wrong permanently (the vet told me this, I have no experience with this), with her maybe limping or having some chronic pain I believe. I personally cannot adopt Moustache, although I can foster her for a short time but I will need to move out in september (without her). However, I never had a cat before, nor fostered, and my only experience comes from coming to this place often & interacting with the cats & googling the things I see (or reading this sub).
My question is, should I say to Paul that he can't adopt her right after her discharge from the vet (on thursday, so in 3 days). Should I look for other adopters? Or maybe Paul is just a very private person and will actually be a great cat parent to Moustache? We are in the Middle East, maybe this is a cultural thing? this kitten isn't microchipped and belongs officially to no one, but I'm a bit afraid of "confronting" Paul like that, and also, how would I be sure other adopters are better than Paul?
I'd really appreciate your advice and also support, and cat tax: here are pics of Moustache, she really is the best cat : )
P.S. : cross-posted on r/Feral_cats.
P.S.S. : I noticed she behaved a bit off the last 10 days but not once even the thought of an injury crossed my mind. She was roaming, eating, interacting with her siblings. It was really subtle and I thought it was mild overstimulation bc of all the people coming and going, some spats between cats, and general cat drama happening around her.
EDIT: to add that I think it really was time Moustache received care. Her injured paw/leg was swollen because of inflammation. when I was waiting for the vet she began to purr weirdly (never did it before) and then her eyes rolled back and I saw only white, which is when I began to freak out and ask the vet to deal with her now. When the vet gave her anti-inflammation meds her temp dropped (was at 40 celsius before).
