Cat Fleas

Fleas - if your cat ever goes outdoors or comes in contact with animals that do, you are probably familiar with these pests. Given the right conditions, these tiny brownish insects can quickly multiply and turn into a horrible infestation.

Many cats are allergic to fleas. For them, even a single fleabite can trigger an acute response of dermatitis. For cats that are not allergic, fleas can be just plain itchy and irritating and also a source of tapeworm infection.

Kittens and sick cats are particularly vulnerable to fleas. Left untreated, hordes of fleas have been known to cause severe anemia in kittens and even death.

Know the Enemy

Fleas are small parasitic insects that feed on blood. There are dozens of species of fleas, each adapted to a particular host. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is the most common type found in modern homes. The cat being their preferred host, these fleas can also suck blood from humans, dogs and other animals.

The flea's life-cycle consists of four stages. An adult female flea lays several thousand eggs in her lifetime at a rate of as many as 50 eggs a day. Eggs usually fall off the host and then hatch into larvae.

Flea larvae prefer warm dark places, such as carpets and soft furnishing, where they feed on flea droppings for several days. Then they weave a small cocoon where they turn into adult fleas.

The adult flea can lay dormant in its cocoon for many weeks, waiting for a potential host to pass by. Triggered by heat, movement and exhaled carbon dioxide, they come out of their tiny silky shells and jump onto a passing animal or person.