In this article :
1- The life cycle of cat fleas
2- Signs of fleas on cats
3- Effects of fleas on cats
4- Treating cat fleas
5- Prevention of fleas in cats
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Cat fleas are the most common insects that can be seen on your cat, their scientific name is Ctenocephalides felis, and the main host for this type is domesticated cats, although they are sometimes found on dogs, but the vast majority of fleas that attack dogs belong to another species that for dogs .
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1- The life cycle of cat fleas :
The life cycle of cat fleas passes through four stages, namely the eggs, the larva, the transitional stage, and the adult insect that must feed on blood before it is able to reproduce and produce eggs.
The adult insect lays eggs after getting a full blood meal at a rate of one egg every hour, and lays approximately 20-30 eggs per day on the cat’s body, and continues to lay eggs until it dies.
Cat flea bugs can produce up to 2000-8000 eggs over the course of their life, unless they are eaten by the cat while cleaning his body with his tongue. Then the eggs are spread in the surrounding environment, and then part of the eggs hatch within a period of time ranging from two to 7 weeks for the larva to emerge.
The cat flea larva is sensitive to light, so it avoids light and hides away from it, as it needs a certain degree of humidity, and a warm temperature as well. The larva feeds at that stage on many organic materials, and the main food for it is the crumbs of dry blood that fall from the cat's hair continuously, after it is produced from adult fleas as excreta.
The larva goes through four stages to change its shape and then begins spinning its own cocoon and enters the transitional phase, the cocoon is adhesive and surrounds itself with a cover to distort from the surrounding dust and dust, and the cocoon depends very much on heat and humidity to survive, and continues like this until it reaches the insect The adult inside the cocoon within about a week, which may remain inside it in a state of complete latency until it finds a suitable host for it.
The adult insect emerges from the cocoon and uses varying degrees of light and shade with increased warmth and carbon dioxide content to explore the presence of its host. Within seconds of its release, it jumps on the new cat and begins feeding on blood from it.
The life span of an adult insect is two to three months.
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2- Signs of fleas on cats :
Cat fleas are a small insect in size, and sometimes they are present and hidden under the hair without being seen by the breeder, especially in long-haired cat breeds.
Using your hand against the hair direction , try to see fleas as they move.
You may not see it either, but you will find a lot of black spots, especially at the end of the back area. These black points are usually the droppings of fleas.
Combing the cat's hair on a daily basis is also helpful in seeing fleas, in addition to its important role in stimulating the sebaceous glands under the skin and preventing hair from clumping.
Itching and constant skin irritation are signs and symptoms of cat allergy due to the presence of fleas, this is very common, if you notice symptoms of severe itching and discomfort on your cat, head to the veterinarian to diagnose the cause.
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3- Effects of fleas on cats :
Skin Allergy :
The presence of insects such as fleas is one of the most common causes of allergies in cats and dogs as well, you will notice the symptoms of that problem on your cat clearly, as it causes severe scratching and dermatitis, and cat biting the legs, and this type of allergy does not require a large number of fleas for the emergence of the problem. Very little can cause severe allergic reactions and dermatitis.
The issue in general varies from one cat to another, so the formation of sensitivity to a cause varies according to the body.
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Severe dehydration :
It usually occurs easily in young cats, or cats that suffer from general weakness, and also with healthy adult cats with a large number of fleas on their body. With the increase in the number of fleas on the cat’s body, the cat begins to lose a large part of the fluid as a result of the fleas feeding on the blood, and this causes severe dehydration that develops quickly as soon as it appears, and sometimes causes a shock to the heart and death.
Cases of cardiac arrest due to dehydration due to fleas in cats are not few, and although they often need a large amount of insects to reach that stage, many breeders, especially those who do not use cat insect medicines periodically, do not pay attention to the presence of some Black points on the cat's body, and suddenly he finds that the number is very large, the problem lies in the ability of fleas to produce a very large number of eggs in one life cycle.
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