Cat flea: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the cat flea lives – recorded in 40 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ctenocephalides felis
Group	Grasshoppers, bugs & other insects
Found in	40 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Insect
Order	Siphonaptera
Family	Pulicidae

Where does the cat flea live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the cat flea in 40 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. In Sweden, South Africa it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the cat flea?

The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is an insect in the order Siphonaptera and the family Pulicidae, genus Ctenocephalides. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the cat flea

The cat flea (scientific name Ctenocephalides felis) is an extremely common parasitic insect whose principal host is the domestic cat, although a high proportion of the fleas found on dogs also belong to this species. This is despite the widespread existence of a separate and well-established "dog" flea, Ctenocephalides canis. Cat fleas originated in Africa but can now be found globally. As humans began domesticating cats, the prevalence of the cat flea increased and it spread throughout the world.

Of the cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis is the most common, although other subspecies do exist, including C. felis strongylus, C. orientis, and C. damarensis. Over 90% of fleas found on both dogs and cats are Ctenocephalides felis felis.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cat flea (revision 1380458710), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1736901 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).