What is staggering disease?
Staggering disease has been known to occur in domestic cats in Europe for over 50 years, but its cause — rustrela virus — was only discovered recently, in 2022. In Europe, staggering disease occurs mostly in domestic cats but has also been identified in other species including a donkey, coati, capybara, red-necked wallabies, and an otter. Staggering disease has been reported only once outside of Europe, in a wild mountain lion in Colorado in 2023.
In Europe, rustrela virus infects wild mice without causing disease in the mice (instead, the mice are considered a reservoir host for the virus). Researchers suspect that cats and other animals probably become infected with rustrela virus by eating infected mice. This may explain why, in Europe, outdoor cats are more at risk for developing staggering disease than cats that remain indoors.
The Fox lab at Colorado State University is working to determine how widespread this disease may be in Colorado and elsewhere in the United States.
Symptoms of staggering disease
- Incoordination/ataxia (staggering)
- Stiff legs while walking
- Falling over
- Weakness in legs
- Difficulty jumping
- Inability to retract claws
- Pain in the lower back
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Increased vocalization
- Behaving more friendly
- Behaving less friendly
To help identify symptoms, view footage of a Colorado mountain lion with staggering disease.
Colorado mountain lion with staggering disease. (Video courtesy Erica Rhinehart)
Staggering disease research in the Fox lab
The discovery of staggering disease in Colorado, U.S.A. was unexpected and raised many questions about risks to pets and wildlife. To start answering these questions, we first need to understand how common this disease is locally.
We are working to determine the extent of this disease in Colorado and elsewhere in North America. Currently, our objectives are:
- To test suspect cases of staggering disease in cats and other species. Submit information about suspect cases for possible testing below.
- To test rodents near documented cases of staggering disease to search for a reservoir host of the virus in North America. If your neighborhood or business has been contacted for rodent surveillance, submission information can be found below.
This work is funded by a grant from the Morris Animal Foundation.
Submit a case
You can help us identify suspect cases for testing! If the case(s) meets requirements for inclusion in the study, we will contact you within two working days to arrange case submission.