Fleas and ticks cause great discomfort in cats. They can also transmit disease. You can use certain preventatives and products to avoid problems caused by fleas and ticks. Year round flea and tick preventatives are the products of choice.

The cat flea is the most common external parasite that affects cats. Adult fleas hop on to cats and start feeding on blood. They digest and excrete the blood quickly. The reddish-black fecal pellets or "flea dirt" stays on the cat. When fleas mate, the females begin producing eggs in a day or two. In a day, fleas lay 40 to 50 eggs. Some eggs fall on the floor and other areas. The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on organic debris, including flea dirt. In about three to five weeks, adult fleas are produced. Fleas irritate cats tremendously. Cats used their barbed tongues to remove these parasites. Thus, they harm their skin further. Fleas can also transmit diseases. Many cats are allergic to fleas. This allergy is a common health condition.

Ticks are less troublesome for cats than they are for dogs. Since cats like to groom themselves naturally, they manage to remove ticks from their coats before the parasites are attached. This is a good thing, because ticks suck blood and can potentially spread diseases like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease.

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