What dangers do cockroaches pose to cats?

I'm a little pissed off... I'm living in my first place with roommates that are almost twice my age. When I told them that I found four dead roaches and two live between the counter and stove, nobody batted an eye. So, because I thought "they know best", I thought it wasn't a big deal.  I've heard that if you see one, you have a thousand. I've seen roughly 9 now. Not all of them alive but they had to have recently died considering where they were. My roommates don't seem to take this whole thing seriously and I'm trying really hard to get them to deal with it. So now my thought is, if they pose a danger to their cat, they'll do something about it since they love the cat dearly. Will their feces harm the cat if he breathes it in? Will the bugs bite him? What happens if they get into the cat's food since it's in the kitchen? I also need to know since I have a cat and I don't want anything bad happening to him (I've already moved my cat's food and water to the upstairs office about a week ago)!!!!!!!!! Thanks in advance

My guess is that they pose the same danger to cats as to humans, spreading germs and disease.  Do you live in an apartment building?  If you live in an apartment building the entire building needs to be fumigated at the same time.  I know there are sprays and bombs that people can use but for a heavy infestation it needs to be done by a professional.  Both the humans and kitties need to be out of the house while it is being fumigated.