How Jagger Got His Swagger Back

How Jagger Got His Swagger Back

  • Andrea Gordon
  • 02/2/21

Jagger had lived a life of pain. This sweet cat came to us in April 2020 from a local public shelter, clearly having suffered for a long time.

​​​​​​​His eyes were damaged—one was shrunken—and his paw pads were inflamed, a troubling sign of another disease, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).

​​​​​​​Because of donors who support the Hope Medical Fund, we can transport sick animals from public shelters that do not have the resources for complicated cases like Jagger. 

For 10 years Jagger lived with a chronic eye injury or irritation that, by the time he got to Berkeley Humane, caused his eye to shrink and go blind.

There was no hope in saving it, but our medical team was able to remove it—eliminating the pain and preventing the eye from possibly becoming cancerous. 

Jagger’s other eye had entropion, a serious condition where the eyelid is turned inwards, causing the eyelashes to constantly rub on and irritate the cornea. 

​​​​​​​Fortunately, thanks to donations made to the Hope Medical Fund, our medical team saved this eye with surgery. Tests confirmed that Jagger was FIV positive, causing a painful condition in his paw pads. The inflammation was so bad that he needed surgery to remove the excess tissue. 

Throughout his many medical procedures, Jagger was a calm and affectionate cat. He was patient even with a cone around his head, stitches in his eye socket, and with his little front paws bandaged up to the point where he couldn’t walk. His foster family commented that “He’s had a rough life but is so full of love.” 

After six long weeks of recovery, he became an active cat, playing with his foster family. In fact, his foster family had fallen in love with him, and they couldn’t let him go! Jagger was adopted by them and is living his best life with the family that nursed him back to health.

Please consider making a donation of any amount to help us continue our work. 

Thank you!

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