2–3 mm long wingless ticks.
Flattened from side to side.
Have long legs enabling them to jump.
They have both genal and pronotal combs (ctenidia), differentiating them from most other fleas of domestic animals.
Fleas pass through four stages: eggs, larva, pupa, adult. The eggs are small and white.
These stages combined vary from two weeks to eight months.
The adult flea is awakened by the detection of vibration of pet or human movement, pressure, heat, noise, or carbon dioxide for potential blood meals.
A cat flea cannot complete is life–cycle feeding only on human blood.
These fleas are often unable to determine whether a host is suitable until it has been bitten. If it is deemed unsuitable, the flea soon drops off. These fleas nest where the host is in its usual resting place, for example the cat basket. This is where the young drop to mature.
