When Cleo is diagnosed with feline diabetes, the cat who was always an outsider, never needing anything from anyone, is suddenly cast as the main player in a house full of interesting characters.Faced with the deteriorating health of her cat, Heather Peden reflects on the nine years in which Cleo lived as a bit of a stranger in their midst, never quite fitting in from day one when she was an unwanted kitten in a box. As Heather's focus shifts from the other animals in the house to treating Cleo, her bond with Cleo grows and she begins to appreciate her quirks and eccentricities as they disappear beneath the weight of the disease.Despite following prescribed treatment, Cleo's condition worsens. Frustrated, Heather begins her own research into feline diabetes and discovers the missing link that sets Cleo on the path to remission and into a new life in which Cleo thrives as the cat she was always meant to be.