Cat fleas: what they look like and are they dangerous to humans

The cat flea is a close relative of rat and dog fleas, from which it differs in some features of appearance and size. An ordinary person, poorly versed in entomology, is unlikely to notice the differences between these related parasites.

However, in general, poor knowledge of the biology of fleas and their lifestyle can sometimes have very undesirable consequences, for the reason that cat fleas are carriers of many diseases dangerous to humans. Statistics show that only 1 person out of 10 has a more or less correct idea of ​​how these parasites reproduce and what are their significant differences, for example, from withers and lice.

On a note

The so-called cat lice and cat fleas are completely different insects, rarely found on the same animal. They clearly differ in appearance, but there are even more differences in their way of life: the cat louse constantly lives on the animal, the flea only jumps on it to feed.But for a person, it is important that cat lice cannot change their owner and live only on cats, but cat fleas are also dangerous for humans - they easily attack him.

Here are some photos of cat fleas:

In most cases, in cities and villages, it is cat fleas that attack people and pets. This species is one of the most common and numerous in domestic animals in general, and is able to feed on the blood of the largest number of hosts: from rodents to humans. Moreover, cats are not always the main owner for him ...

It is interesting

If cat fleas attack rats, they compete with rat fleas here and in most cases displace the latter.

 

What does a cat flea look like: a look under a microscope

Cat fleas look like very small dark-colored insects that literally appear for a moment in the hair of an animal and immediately hide in the fur. A cat flea on a person is more noticeable, if only because it cannot hide in the hair, and prefers to bite precisely on hairless parts of the body - legs, buttocks, back and stomach. Here it looks like a tiny shiny insect, which is very difficult to catch - fleas are excellent at jumping up to 30 cm.

The photo below shows a cat flea on a human body:

On a note

From the place from which the flea starts the jump, it disappears almost instantly - the human eye is not able to follow the movement of the insect at such a speed. So fleas create a kind of optical illusion: it seems as if the insect has simply disappeared.

Cat fleas are very small insects. Their body length, depending on age, ranges from 0.8 to 4 mm, more often - 2-3 mm. Coloring - dark brown with a distinctly noticeable sheen.

Next in the photo is a cat flea under a microscope:

And in the next photo - cat fleas in the fur of an animal:

Cat fleas do not have wings, but they do have very powerful pushing hind legs that provide them with the ability to jump long distances. The body of insects is laterally compressed and elongated in height. This is an adaptive mechanism.

• thanks to him, the flea can quickly and deftly move among the hairs in the host's coat
• a flat solid body is more difficult to crush by mechanical compression
• a flat body experiences less air resistance during a jump.

It is interesting

Dense body covers and a flattened shape very effectively protect cat fleas from being crushed: for example, even after catching an insect, it is impossible to crush it with fingertips, and a nail should be used to destroy it. Partly due to their invulnerability, parasites do not mask their bites with pain-relieving enzymes: the flea bites very painfully.

From related species - rat and dog - the cat flea differs in a slightly smaller size. In addition, in the rat flea, the back of the body is slightly pulled up, while in the dog flea the head is large. But such details are very difficult to see with the naked eye (see photo):

 

Lifestyle and reproduction of the cat flea

Cat fleas are active ectoparasites of mammals. They live in places of accumulation of garbage, under stones and tufts of dry grass, nests of wild animals in nature. In a person's house or in outbuildings, cat fleas often settle in the bedding on which the pet sleeps, under carpets, behind baseboards, in corners with accumulation of debris (although many people incorrectly believe that fleas live only on an animal).In such secluded places, parasites rest and multiply.

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Cat fleas are distributed throughout the globe and are found on rodents even on remote tropical islands.

The hungry parasite starts looking for a warm-blooded animal to feed on. At the same time, the flea navigates with the help of large eyes and sense of smell, attacking the very first victim that is within its reach, be it a cat, dog, rat or person. Having jumped on the victim, the flea makes its way to the skin of the animal and makes several bites. After that, the parasite jumps off the animal and hides in a convenient place.

Cat fleas can starve for a long time, and they need blood primarily to maintain the reproductive cycle. In a female that is not saturated with blood, eggs do not develop.

If the insect is full, within a few hours after the meal, the female begins to lay eggs.

With a very strong infection of the animal's shelter, a large number of parasites can, with their bites, lead to the development of anemia and exhaustion in the victim, and sometimes bring it to death.

It is interesting

The female flea does not lay, but literally shoots eggs from the abdomen. This is a kind of adaptation to the spread of eggs over as long a distance as possible: the larvae fall into different conditions, where at least a few of them will have more chances to survive.

A few days later, larvae emerge from the flea eggs, similar to white transparent worms, which feed on various organic residues - bedding in the animal's nest, pieces of its skin and excrement of adult fleas with blood preserved in them. The larvae develop from several days to several weeks, depending on the ambient temperature and the abundance of food, after which they pupate.After 1-3 weeks, an adult insect emerges from the pupa.

The photo below shows the eggs and larvae of a cat flea:

On a note

At the pupal stage, fleas can winter in the conditions of central Russia in the cold. Their development stops at these temperatures, and fleas emerge from pupae only during spring warming.

The breeding cycle from egg to egg in a cat flea, under suitable conditions, lasts about 10 days. Such a high speed is observed only at high temperatures and abundant nutrition. Sometimes, due to frost and lack of food, the cycle can be extended up to 2 years.

 

Are cat fleas dangerous to humans?

Cat fleas are dangerous to humans. They carry pathogens of dangerous diseases - brucellosis, plague, encephalitis, salmonellosis, hepatitis - and can cause epidemics.

But even by themselves, cat flea bites are very painful and cause skin irritation, itching, rashes, and when scratched, pustular inflammation. Together, all these symptoms in medicine are called pulicosis and are considered a parasitic disease.

This is not to say that humans are the most preferred prey for cat fleas. However, due to its relatively low mobility and large body size, it often catches the eye of fleas living in residential areas, and therefore often gets bitten.

In the photo below - a flea on the human body at the time of the bite:

 

How to deal with cat fleas?

Due to the rather specific lifestyle, dealing with cat fleas can be quite difficult.

To reliably remove cat fleas from the apartment, you must:

• Treat pets that may have adult insects with antiparasitic drugs.To do this, you can use insecticidal sprays, collars, shampoos, as well as special drops on the withers.
• Eat fleas in the entire room in which they were found. This can be done with special preparations such as Combat, Raptor, Executioner, Get, etc. Today, insecticide concentrates are especially popular, from which a solution of the desired concentration is prepared and then sprayed from a conventional spray bottle around the apartment.
• In places where flea larvae can survive, additional insecticidal dusts should be scattered.

It is important to remember that fleas often enter an apartment or house on pets. Therefore, taking care of protecting the premises from parasites, it is on your pets that you should check for fleas first of all.

Getting rid of cat fleas in an apartment is only half the task, but preventing them from re-entering the room can sometimes be much more difficult. To do this, keep the house clean, wear anti-flea collars on pets in the summer, regularly wash and shake out bedding and rugs.

Such, albeit troublesome, but effective measures will allow you to protect the room from fleas with a sufficient degree of reliability.

 

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