Found cat in Winlaw

On Friday, I was coming out of Jennie's Garden in Winlaw and saw a cat run across the highway with a young boy. Curious to know why a cat would be out in the snow and cold, I asked if it was his cat and he said no. A woman came over from the Cedar Creek Cafe and told me it was a pregnant stray who had been hanging around for quite a while. She thought the cat had been abandoned and it had been hanging out at Sissie's Coffee Stop and the restaurant. Poor little thing, she had to cross the highway (with speed-crazy drivers) to go between each place. It's a miracle she was still alive or not injured.
Well of course, I couldn't stand by and see a cat trying to survive like this, so I took Gus home, picked up the cat carrier and went back to get her. I put her in my office and gave her a warm bed and yummy wet food which she devoured instantly. She is so friendly, sweet and very very loving, and not the least bit afraid of Gus or the other cats. I had hoped to take her to the Second Chance Animal Shelter in Nelson but they're full up and apparently don't take 'found' animals. So after having her here for five days, Jim, who is not an emotional cat-loving rescue-type person like me, took her to the Nelson SPCA today, assured that they would not euthanize her. She is a wonderful cat and I sure hope she goes to a safe and loving home that she so deserves.
For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would abandon an animal when there are shelters that will take them. And, why would all the people who knew she was a stray let her try to fend for herself in the minus 15 degree, cold and damp weather? That to me, is abuse in itself. Where does compassion come from? And why is there so little of it for our precious animals?