this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2024
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289
New virus that causes ‘staggering disease’ discovered in US - and it can kill pet cats and those in the wild (www.independent.co.uk)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/news
24 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The American Veterinary Medical Association said symptoms to watch for include a staggering gait, the inability to retract claws, extreme sensitivity to touch, tremors, and seizures. The illness usually lasts for a few days to a few weeks, but can also linger for more than a year.

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[–] someguy3 41 points 2 months ago

A variant of the rustrela virus -- related to the wider-known rubella virus which causes a skin rash in humans -- called RusV was discovered in a female mountain lion in Douglas County, Colorado last year, according to a study published in the journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, this month.

The big cat was observed in May 2023 with lesions on her skin and signs of severe muscle weakness in her hind legs. She was also reluctant to get up and had decreased mobility.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Alerted my folks and friends with cats. Unlikely to have spread to Canada in any meaningful numbers, but best to have the knowledge and see if that can be vaccinated against

[–] VelvetStorm 41 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Keeping them indoors will also dramatically reduce the chances of them getting it.

[–] FlyingSquid 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

And it will also reduce the number of bird species being brought to extinction by outdoor cats. Now to be fair, most of that preying is going on by feral cats, but that's why you should also spay or neuter in case kitty escapes.

[–] Siegfried 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Only humans are allowed to do that 💁‍♂️

[–] FlyingSquid 7 points 2 months ago

Humans are doing that. Who do you think brought the cats there in the first place? Who do you think perpetuates the populations?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago

You missed the important part.

It generally results in a decline that require the animal to be euthanized.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

I hope it doesn't come to Japan. We have lots of cats running around the area that I moved to. I hope to start some trap+neuter/spay at some point, but can't afford it now. One of the cats will get close and hang out, but will not be touched. They're all varying shades of feral. On the plus side, they do help keep our rodent populations low (as do the snakes to a lesser degree (though they prefer toads), but I prefer non-venemous farm helpers

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

My first thought, luckily a virus and not a prion disease. Still sucks.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Can you explain the difference? I thought with viruses there is typically little to no treatment other than letting it run its course.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Prions are misfolded proteins that misfold other proteins they contact. They're much harder to kill with heat or sanitizer and pretty much always fatal.