Skip to main content Live Science Live Science Search Live Science View Profile Sign up to our newsletter Planet Earth Archaeology Physics & Math Human Behavior Science news Life's Little Mysteries Science quizzes Newsletters Story archive Buck Moon 2025 Earth spinning faster How pythons digest skeletons Texas flash flooding Prime Day deals Recommended reading Florida bobcat bites the head off of 13-foot Burmese python in the Everglades Archaeology Catquistadors: Oldest known domestic cats in the US died off Florida coast in a 1559 Spanish shipwreck Viruses, Infections & Disease Single gene may help explain the plague's persistence throughout human history Cats may have been domesticated much later than we thought — with earlier felines being eaten or made into clothes Domestic Cats Scientists solve mystery of how orange cats got their coats — and why so many are male Domestic Cats Cats recognize familiar BO and can spot strangers from the stink of their armpits and toes An 'interstellar visitor' and the oldest ancient Egyptian genome ever sequenced Viruses, Infections & Disease Scientist's cat helps discover a rare virus — yet again Ben Turner 10 July 2025 Pepper the cat, whose owner works at the University of Florida, gathered a specimen containing a never-before-seen virus for the second time. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Pepper in the yard of his home in Gainesville, Florida. (Image credit: John Lednicky) A scientist's cat shot to fame last year for his role in the discovery of the United States' first-known jeilongvirus. Now, the feline has replicated his success by fetching yet another animal containing a never-before-seen bug. The newfound virus was found in a dead Everglades short-tailed shrew (Blarina peninsulae), which Pepper the cat brought home following a successful hunting trip near his home in Gainesville, Florida. John Lednicky, Pepper's owner and a virologist at the University of Florida, retrieved his pet's catch and took it to the lab for testing. The results revealed that the shrew carried a never-before-seen strain of Orthoreovirus — a poorly understood viral genus that's known to infect birds and various mammals, including humans, white-tailed deer and bats. Lednicky and his colleagues published their findings June 10 in the journal Microbiology Resource Announcements. You may like Florida bobcat bites the head off of 13-foot Burmese python in the Everglades Catquistadors: Oldest known domestic cats in the US died off Florida coast in a 1559 Spanish shipwreck Single gene may help explain the plague's persistence throughout human history "The bottom line is we need to pay attention to orthoreoviruses, and know how to rapidly detect them," Lednicky said in a statement. That's because there have been reported cases of them causing serious illness in humans. First discovered in the 1950s, orthoreoviruses spread through poop or inhaled droplets and typically infect the respiratory or intestinal tracts of their hosts. They were named "orphan viruses" because they were not initially associated with any known diseases — meaning scientists thought they didn't cause any serious conditions. Since then, though, orthoreoviruses have been linked to rare cases of brain swelling (encephalitis), swelling of the tissues over the brain's surface (meningitis) and inflammation of the digestive tract (gastroenteritis) in children, the statement noted. Related: New viruses identified in bats in China Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. After isolating the virus from the dead shrew, Lednicky and his colleagues analyzed the virus' genome and discovered it was a new strain, which they named Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1. The existence of the new strain is unsurprising, because viruses constantly evolve and generate new strains. One way new strains can emerge is that two different viruses can infect a host cell at the same time and then swap genes, Lednicky noted. "I'm not the first one to say this, but essentially, if you look, you'll find, and that's why we keep finding all these new viruses," Lednicky said. RELATED STORIES —Viruses found in Laos bats are closest known relatives to SARS-CoV-2 —32 diseases you can catch from animals —1st fatal case of Alaskapox may have been tied to stray cat Researchers still have many questions about orthoreoviruses, including how often they infect humans and animals, how sick they could make us, and all the ways they can spread. For instance, orthoreoviruses with nearly identical genes to one another have been found in deer in the U.S., farmed mink in China, and a lion in Japan, raising the possibility that they may have been transmitted through feedstock made by the same manufacturer. The researchers say their next steps will be exposing the virus to blood serum of potential hosts and running immunology studies to better understand the threats the newfound strain may pose to humans and wildlife. For the moment, "not enough is known about this recently identified virus to be concerned," study lead author Emily DeRuyter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida, said in the statement. As for Pepper, the virologists say he has shown no signs of illness and will continue to contribute to scientific research through his hunting. "This was an opportunistic study," Lednicky said. "If you come across a dead animal, why not test it instead of just burying it? There is a lot of information that can be gained." Social Links Navigation Senior Staff Writer Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Florida bobcat bites the head off of 13-foot Burmese python in the Everglades Catquistadors: Oldest known domestic cats in the US died off Florida coast in a 1559 Spanish shipwreck Single gene may help explain the plague's persistence throughout human history Cats may have been domesticated much later than we thought — with earlier felines being eaten or made into clothes Scientists solve mystery of how orange cats got their coats — and why so many are male Cats recognize familiar BO and can spot strangers from the stink of their armpits and toes Latest in Viruses, Infections & Disease RFK's proposal to let bird flu spread through poultry could set us up for a pandemic, experts warn Chemotherapy can make healthy blood cells 'look old' Man's body crawling with parasitic worms after infected kidney transplant at US hospital New blood test detects cancers 3 years before typical diagnosis, study hints New viruses identified in bats in China Some early-onset cancers are on the rise. Why? 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