The Rest of the Family: Pets, Purpose, and Routine

Chapter 55 · Vihang Rahul Vasa

The previous chapter was about the people who share your home and your genes. This one is about the other members of the household: the ones with four legs, who never read a single page of this book and yet, in my experience, have done as much for my diabetes as some of the chapters in it. This is a short chapter. It is also one I feel strongly about.

Illustration: The author with his cat Milkyway on his lap

Milkyway, at ease: the daily reason to stay well. (Author’s photograph.)

I want to say something here that no doctor ever told me but that I have found to be true: if there is a mammal in your home who loves you, a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and so on, then, in my personal experience, you already have one of the most powerful allies in your diabetes journey. Pets are not entertainment. They are structure. They wake you at the same hour whether you feel like it or not; they need feeding, cleaning, walking, attention, and in giving them a routine, you quietly give yourself one. The American Heart Association has noted that pet ownership, dogs in particular, may be associated with lower cardiovascular risk, largely through activity and reduced stress, and studies have also described companion animals as a meaningful source of emotional and social support for some people. I do not doubt any of it. But the deeper effect is simpler than any study: it is very hard to feel alone in a home where something small and warm is waiting for you to come home.

My wife Poonam and I love cats, and ours have taught me more about consistency than any lifestyle book. A cat does not care about your HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin), but it cares enormously that dinner arrives on time, that you sit down so it can settle on your lap, that you get up in the morning. And on the days when discipline felt pointless, one thought did more for me than any lecture, and I will say it bluntly, because that is how it came to me: if I die early, what happens to my cats? Who feeds them tomorrow morning? Doctors call this responsibility; psychologists might call it an anchor. I call it the reason I took the walk. Love for a pet can move mountains: it can change what you eat, how you sleep, whether you take that walk. If you have one, hold on to that. If you have room in your life for one, think about it. They ask for very little and give back a reason.

Illustration: Gujarati the cat sitting alert beside a fish tank

Illustration: The author holding Tuxedo the cat

Gujarati on watch (left), and Tuxedo with the author (right): the rest of the family. (Author’s photographs.)

The research below provides context for the broader benefits of companionship and activity; the personal observations in this chapter are based on my own experience.

References:

American Heart Association: Levine GN et al. Pet ownership and cardiovascular risk: a scientific statement. Circulation 2013;127:2353–63

Kramer CK, Mehmood S, Suen RS. Dog ownership and survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2019;12:e005554

Brooks HL et al. The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry 2018;18:31

Illustration: Chapter 55 illustrated summary. Pets bring companionship, purpose and routine through feeding, daily care, walking, play and quality time.

Chapter 55 Pets bring companionship, purpose and routine through feeding, daily care, walking, play and quality time. The figure connects consistency with love, responsibility and belonging.

Chapter at a glance: an AI-generated illustration to be read with the chapter, not instead of it. The people shown are not real.