I know, that's why I'm wondering if I should intervene, or let her be.

I did tell the guy who's the one predominantly feeding her to let me know right away if he thought she was in any distress and I will take her to a vet.

One very good thing about her situation is that the works yard is fenced in, so she won't have to worry about coyotes or cars. I'd imagine a racoon can easily scale a fence, but let's hope there are none in that area.

I suppose in a way it's no different than her being a barn cat, though she doesn't really have a dedicated shelter aside from an open tent (to house tractors and such). Last winter was mild, what happens when it gets really cold?

Another part of me thinks she deserves a chance at a warm home with a nice bed for her to sleep on.

I do think it'll spell disaster if I took her home myself, but I can't deny I'm not thinking about it. I even thought about sending her to live with my folks and Boo, but the wild card is her being an outdoor cat for so long, would she adjust to being an indoor-only cat??