What do fleas do on cats? - briefly
Fleas attach to a cat’s skin and consume its blood, provoking itching, inflammation, and potential disease transmission. Their feeding induces scratching, hair loss, and secondary bacterial infections.
What do fleas do on cats? - in detail
Fleas on cats are obligate blood‑sucking parasites that complete most of their life cycle on the host’s skin and coat. Adult insects locate a suitable host by detecting heat, carbon dioxide, and movement. Once on the animal, they grasp the hair shafts with their hind legs and begin feeding several times a day, each meal lasting a few minutes. During feeding they inject saliva containing anticoagulants and anesthetic proteins, which suppress the cat’s immediate pain response and facilitate blood intake.
The blood meal provides the nutrients required for egg production. A single female can lay up to 50 eggs per day, depositing them onto the cat’s fur. Eggs fall off the host and accumulate in the environment—bedding, carpets, and upholstery—where they hatch into larvae within 2–5 days under suitable temperature (20‑30 °C) and humidity (≥75 %). Larvae feed on organic debris, adult flea feces (which contain digested blood), and sometimes on each other. After several molts, larvae spin cocoons and enter the pupal stage, remaining dormant until stimulated by vibrations, carbon dioxide, or temperature changes caused by a nearby host. Adult emergence may occur within a week or be delayed for months, depending on environmental conditions.
Fleas cause several direct and indirect effects on cats:
- Skin irritation: Repeated bites trigger localized inflammation, itching, and hair loss, especially along the back, neck, and tail base.
- Allergic dermatitis: Some cats develop hypersensitivity to flea saliva, leading to severe pruritus and secondary bacterial infections.
- Anemia: Heavy infestations can result in significant blood loss, particularly in kittens or debilitated animals, with clinical signs of weakness, pale mucous membranes, and tachycardia.
- Pathogen transmission: Fleas serve as vectors for Bartonella henselae (cat‑scratch disease), Rickettsia spp., and tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum), introducing these agents during feeding or through ingestion of infected fleas during grooming.
Effective control requires a combination of adulticidal and larvicidal measures:
- Topical or oral ectoparasiticides that kill adult fleas on contact and prevent egg production.
- Environmental treatment with insect growth regulators (IGRs) such as methoprene or pyriproxyfen to inhibit larval development.
- Regular cleaning of bedding, vacuuming of carpets, and laundering of fabrics to remove fallen eggs and larvae.
- Routine monitoring using flea combs to detect early infestations and assess treatment efficacy.
Understanding each stage of the flea’s biology and its interaction with the feline host enables targeted interventions that reduce parasite burden, prevent disease transmission, and protect animal health.