You may have heard of cat fleas. The organisms that fed on the cat’s blood. Have you ever wondered that how a cat flea looks like from a human eye? Cat fleas which are usually referred to as parasites are tiny creatures that fed on the cat’s blood. Today we are going to discuss how they look from a human eye.
What is a cat flea?
Cat fleas are tiny creatures that live on cats and feed on their blood. They are parasitic insects that live on cats. If a cat is infected with fleas then you may see them on your cat’s body, crawling, or stick on a part of the body while drinking blood. Cat fleas is one of the major disorders often cats face.
What is a parasite?
Now, the most important question is what is a parasite? The organisms that get shelter from their host and in return fed on their blood are called parasites. Parasite insects are tiny little creatures that live on the host body and in return harm the host by feeding on their blood.
What can a cat fleas cause?
A cat flea can cause several health issues to a cat if remain untreated. The most common issues caused by cat fleas are:
- Anemia
- Tapeworms
- Cat Scratch Disease
Anemia:
As cat fleas continuously fed on cats’ blood one of the major issues, they can cause is anemia. Anemia is also referred to as blood deficiency. Most victims of cat fleas are young kittens. Blood deficiency caused by cat fleas can be dangerous for young kittens.
Tapeworms:
Tapeworms are also parasites that took shelter inside the host body and are fed on their host diet. Usually, tapeworms live in the intestines and feed on your body’s nutrients. Cat fleas are often infected by tapeworms and if one of the infected fleas falls from the cat’s body while grooming and the cat ate it then it can cause tapeworms to the cat also.
Cat Scratch Disease:
Cat fleas shed bacteria in their poop and if a cat ate it then it may get infected by a bacterial disease known as cat scratch disease. *
The life cycle of a Cat flea:
There are different stages of the life cycle of a cat flea:
- Egg
- Larva
- Pupa
- Adult
Egg:
The life of a cat flea begins as an egg. A cat flea egg looks like a piece of salt. They usually look oval and have an off-white color. Once a cat flea lays an egg then it may hatch in 1 to 10 days depending on the environment in which the egg is layed.
Larva:
When a cat flea egg hatches another phase of its life is started. This phase is known as the larval stage. A larva can move and feed on blood and flea poops.
Pupa:
As the larva grows up then a new stage of life started which is named Pupa. The pupa is a stage in which a grown larva turns into a cocoon and undergoes a big change from immaturity to maturity. The pupal stage may be last for more than a week.
Adult:
As the cat flea comes out of cocoon it’s been now fully grown cat flea.
The life span of a cat flea:
Adult cat fleas can live from 2 to 25 days. As the complete life cycle of a cat flea is of 1 month to 2.5 months.
Where do cat fleas like to live?
Cat fleas usually attack cats that are located in warm areas. The peak summer is one of their favorite seasons. However, they can attack a cat at all times in a year.
Most asked questions about cat fleas:
A few of the most asked questions about cat fleas are the following:
Do Cat fleas live on the human body?
One of the most asked questions about cat fleas is that whether they can live on the human body as well or not. The answer to this is simply no. They can’t live on a human body. Like the fact that they live long on long-haired animals and short on short h*aired animals, so, they can’t live on the human body as there is not as much hair as a cat have.
What does a Cat flea hate?
Another question is what does a cat flea hate. They hate the smell of mint, vinegar, citrus, and clove oil as their smell sense is strong.
How much can a cat flea live without a host?
A fully grown flea can only survive 1 day without a host as they require blood and shelter from the host to live.
On which surfaces cat fleas can live?
Cat fleas can live on clothes, carpets, bedding, floor, cracks. They can also live in water and many other surfaces. However, if they are failed to find a host then it is difficult for them to survive.
How to get rid of cat fleas?
Frequently comb your cat with a metal comb specially made up for cat fleas in a day. After that wash the comb with hot water and dish detergent it will kill all the cat fleas and their eggs stuck in the comb. Give bath to your cat frequently in a week and use cat fleas shampoo. Make sure that cat fleas shampoo does not reach the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc., and any other sensitive part of your cat. Because it is made for external use only.
Can cat fleas bite a human?
Yes, they can bite a human also. so if your cat has cat fleas in it’s hairs then you and your other family members should also follow precautionary measures to save yourselves. It is also possible that the cat fleas first reach you then from you it’s reach your cat.
From where did my cat get infected by cat fleas?
The accurate answer to this question is that:
It is not assured that from where your cat gets cat fleas but maybe it gets fleas from some other pet animal of your family or some other one’s pet animal. It is also possible that it get fleas from you and your human family members. because as we know that the cat fleas can also take shelter on humans as well as bite them.
Do cat fleas die on their own?
One of the most frequently asked questions is that do cat fleas die on their own?
Yes, if they do not get food meal from their host cat, they cannot reproduce also and ultimately die on their own. As we know that, cat fleas can also bite humans so it is also possible that if they do not get food meal from their host cat, they can bite a human member of your family.
How to prevent your cat from cat fleas?
Another most frequently asked question is that how to prevent your cat from cat fleas?
Frequently comb your cat with a metal cat comb in a day. Give bath to your cat frequently in a week and use cat shampoo. Make sure that cat shampoo does not reach the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc., and any other sensitive part of your cat. Because it is made for external use only. Stop your cat from interacting with other cats having cat fleas.
How did the cat fleas look like from human eyes?
Another most important and frequently asked question is that how cat fleas look like?
Usually, they look oval-shaped, small, and dark brown insect stick with the skin of your cat with human eyes. they are only 2mm to 4mm in length. Therefore, they are only visible from the naked human eyes. You can also see them when you comb the hairs of your cat and find them drinking the blood of your cat or moving on its skin.
As we know that, cat fleas can also bite humans so it is also possible that you can see them on your skin, clothes, and carpets as well. Sometimes they look like a tiny spot of black color mostly looks like dirt in your cat furs. However, they sometimes also look like small insects moving on the skin of your cat.
How did the cat flea’s eggs look like from human eyes?
Another most important and frequently asked question related to this topic is that how a cat flea’s eggs look like?
Because they are too small, therefore, it is difficult to see them, but it is possible to see them from naked human eyes. Usually, they look like small grains of rice, sand, or salt on the skin of your cat. They most rarely have 0.5mm (1/50 inch) in length. the eggs of cat fleas may be of bright white or off-white colors. they are a lit bit transparent like the grain of rice.
When the cat fleas produce their eggs?
The male and female cat fleas required blood meal to mate, which they get from your cat, and if they do not get them from your cat, they may bite you and your other family member to get a blood meal. After they get blood meal, they mate each other and after mating usually, in two to three days the female cat fleas lay more than 50 eggs per day on your cat skin. These eggs are very small in size and whitish in color and visible to the naked human eyes. and then after a few days, the baby fleas come out from the eggs.
Are pesticides effective against cat fleas?
Another question that may be roaming in your mind is that are pesticides effective against cat fleas. The simple answer to this question is not most pesticides do not have any effect on cat fleas and that is because they have strong immune resistance against many pesticides.
Conclusion:
So, the conclusion is that cat fleas fall in the category of parasitic insects as these tiny creatures live on the body of the host and in return harm them by drinking their blood and causing several health issues. The life of cat flea starts as an egg that when hatches become larva that can move and feed upon host’s blood and cat flea poops after this a larva converts into a cocoon and when a cat flea comes out of a cocoon it is now a fully grown cat flea that can live as long as 2 to 25 days. These cat fleas then fed on the host’s blood and can mate to produce more cat fleas. Cat fleas usually live on cats and dogs. They can’t live on the human body as they need long hair to survive. However, they can bite a human for blood.
The cat fleas look like dark brown small oval-shaped insects. they are only 2mm long. therefore, they are only visible from the naked human eyes. as they can also bite humans, they can also be found on your skin, clothes, and carpets. sometimes, they look like tiny black spots of dust in the fur of your cat moving on it.
The cat fleas egg looks like a grain of rice, sand, and salt and has some transparency in them like rice grains. they have whitish color means they are of bright white or off-white color. they are a maximum of 0.5mm (1/50 inch) long. they are difficult to see because of their small size but can be viewed from naked human eyes.
To get rid of cat fleas you should frequently use cat fleas shampoo, cat fleas metal comb. As most of the pesticides don’t work against them. To prevent cat fleas you can use cat fleas metal comb and things that they don’t like citrus, vinegar, citrus, etc. Despite their bad effects on cats and dogs’ health, these tiny little creatures are also a wonder of nature that how from a single egg they become a cat flea.
