Her Roomate’s Cat May Have Diabetes

Her Roomate’s Cat May Have Diabetes

A student thinks her roommate’s cat may have diabetes and is at a loss to know what to do as the roomate does not seem to be too concerned. Yes, this can be a difficult situation as the cat does not belong to her.

“My roommate has a cat…4 cats actually, but one of them has diabetes (I am pretty sure!), and I don’t know what to do. She is around 10 years old and has not been to the vet so there is no official diagnosis, but almost positive that she has diabetes. Okay, so the obvious thing to do would be to take her to the vet, but this is not my cat, she is my roommate’s cat and they will not take her to the vet. They also don’t really seem to care too much. They are just seem irritated that the cat keeps peeing on things and throwing up water on their couch 
We came back from a two week holiday and in that amount of time she lost a TON of weight….mind you, she was very overweight before, but the rapid weight loss combined with the fact that she is drinking massive amounts of water, makes me pretty confident that she has diabetes now. I just feel so bad for her, and I am frustrated with the “slack” pet ownership that is going on here…. If you have pets you are responsible for taking care of them the best you can! It really bugs me when people don’t take the responsibility of caring for a life (human or not) seriously!!! It makes me want to bang my head against a wall! Sorry, I am ranting. Anyway, I am not sure what I can do… 
I don’t think I can take her to the vet, a) because I am on a really tight student budget and have vet bills with the birds, and b) because I think they would take offence if I said I would take her and I feel that it may not be my place… Is there anything that I could do for her here that could help her a bit?”

Well firstly there are many other illnesses that could cause these symptoms. So the sensible thing would be to take the cat to a vet. If the owners are unwilling and the cat is in distress then in the UK you would report this to the RSPCA (Royal Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals). Maybe there are similar organisations in other countries.?

Many cat  illnesses, depending upon how far they have progressed, can be alleviated by a change in diet. A cats natural food is what it would eat in the wild and that is small rodents, mammals and birds. These foods are high in protein, low in carbohydrate and the cat eats these animals whole, which includes the skeleton. By contrast manufactured cat food contains animal and vegetable by products and is full of carbohydrates, low value and quality protein and contains many added chemicals. So the very least that could be done is to change the cats diet to a natural or raw food one. How this is communicated to the Roomate  is a different issue!?

There are a number of home therapy books that may help. Click the link in the right hand column of this website for one that is recommended.

Her roomate’s cat may have diabetes and unfortunately as the cat does not belong to her, her options are limited. However if cruelty can be demonstrated then the authorities should be informed.