What Are the Diseases Cat Fleas Can Transmit?
The most common flea is known as Ctenocephalides felis, or the domestic cat flea. While this species of flea prefers dogs, there are more than 2,000 species of fleas, and several flea species have been known to feed off both cats and dogs. Unfortunately, this presents a giant health risk for both pets and their owners.
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Identification
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With a head, thorax, abdomen and six legs, fleas are between 2 and 8mm long. They can range from a medium brown color to a mahogany color---depending on the species.
Tapeworms
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Infecting both cats and dogs, tapeworms are transmitted by fleas and rodents. Tapeworm eggs are ingested by the flea or rodent, which is in turn eaten by the cat. The cat's digestive system releases the tapeworm into the cat's system, causing the tapeworm infection.
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Plague
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Yersinia pestis is the bacteria that causes the Plague and is specific to the rodent flea. The rodent flea---like many species of fleas, however, feeds off rodents, rabbits, dogs and cats.
Typhus
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Typhus is transmitted by rodent fleas and cat fleas. Rickettsia typhi (typhus) is transmitted when an infected flea bites a cat or when the infected flea's feces enters a cat's open wound or scratch.
Tularemia
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Better known as Rabbit Fever, the Francisella tularenis bacteria can infect a cat in three ways: by the cat eating an infected rabbit, by the cat being bitten by an infected tick and by the cat being bitten by an infected flea.
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References
- PetEducation.com: Fleas: Life Cycle, Anatomy & Disease Transmission in Cats; Drs. Foster & Smith Inc., Race Foster, D.V.M.
- PetEducation.com: Tapeworms of Cats; Drs. Foster & Smith Inc., Holly Nash, D.V.M.
- PetEducation.com: Plague (Yersinia pestis) in Cats; Drs. Foster & Smith Inc., Holly Nash, D.V.M.
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Stefano Mortellaro
