John Kruger, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, has been named the inaugural Pat Carrigan Chair in Feline Health for the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. This position was generously funded by a bequest by former MSU Board of Trustees member, Dr. Patricia M. Carrigan. The bequest funds an endowed chair who will advance feline health and well-being and nurture the relationships between cats, their owners, and their care providers. 

“I am very honored to be the first Carrigan Chair in Feline Health,” says Kruger. “The endowment will allow us to enhance feline-focused research in areas key to the understanding of causes, treatment, and preventative strategies for diseases that affect cats.” 

Carrigan spent her professional years as a school teacher, a clinical psychologist, and a manager and consultant in industry. She was the first woman plant manager for General Motors in the United States and the first woman elected to, and later to chair, the MSU Board of Trustees. Carrigan had a tremendous love and respect for cats from an early age. She was an MSU alumna with a passion for football, music, and cats. She became a noted collector of cat art and memorabilia. Her collection was willed to the MSU Museum and a portion of it is on exhibit at the College. She also wrote a series of children’s books that featured two stuffed cats as characters.

Carrigan was one of the first people to recognize MSU’s potential for advancing feline health and well-being. Her gift embodies her strong desire to help focus the College’s intellectual and technological resources into a cohesive unit dedicated to helping solve important health problems facing cats. She stated, “Public funds are rarely expended to help cats live longer and healthier lives. It’s up to us who care about the well-being of cats to see that there is a consistent, reliable source of funds to better their lives.”

As an active clinical researcher and engaged mentor, Kruger has directed the MSU Center for Feline Health and Well-Being since 1998. The endowment will assemble his considerable expertise and the potential that already exists at the College to build a cohesive, comprehensive unit whose focus is to investigate pressing issues that affect feline health and to improve the health and well-being of cats.  

“This endowment will ensure a long term and sustainable program that will attract new research grants and top students, as well as greatly enhance the teaching and learning of future veterinarians,” says N. Bari Olivier, chairperson for the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences. “Dr. Kruger’s clinical research and expertise in feline health will allow MSU to be a premier feline research center.”

Currently Kruger’s work focuses on disorders of the canine and feline urinary system with a special emphasis on urinary bladder and elimination disorders. His most notable contributions to the field include the identification of effective treatment strategies for feline idiopathic cystitis and noninvasive management of feline urolithiasis.  

Kruger, who joined MSU in 1989, earned his DVM and PhD from the University of Minnesota. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. From 1999–2015, Kruger served as the associate chairperson for the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences. He was Acting Department Chairperson from 2015–2016. He is the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Faculty Award from the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Association and the 2009 Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence.