Cat flea
The cat flea is a tiny, wingless, reddish-brown insect that lives in the fur of cats and dogs. Its body is so flat from side to side that it slides easily between hairs. It is a super jumper and can leap onto a new animal in a few seconds.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Cat flea compared to YOU?
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How fast is it?
Fun facts
Most of the fleas found on dogs are actually cat fleas.
A flea that falls off its animal usually dies of hunger within a few days.
A new flea waits in its cocoon until it feels warmth, shadows and breath nearby, then jumps out onto the animal.
Only a few of the fleas in a house are grown-ups. Most are eggs and larvae hidden in carpets and pet beds.
A cat flea can live up to two years.
Most asked questions about Cat flea
?Can cat fleas bite people?
Yes, they sometimes bite people too. The bites itch but are not dangerous for most people.
?How big is a cat flea?
It is only 1 to 2 millimetres long, about the size of a sesame seed.
?Where do cat flea eggs go?
The eggs are not sticky, so they fall off the animal into beds, carpets and the floor.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Ctenocephalides felis
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Pulicidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Siphonaptera > Pulicidae
- Lives on
- Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Cat flea (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Andrei Savitsky. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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