Fleas on cats life cycle
Fleas have large hind legs that allow them to jump onto their hosts. They can jump up to 7 inches (18 cm) vertically and 13 inches (33 cm) horizontally and their hairy legs and bodies help them cling to an animal’s fur.
The flea's diet consists entirely of blood. When a flea bites a cat, its saliva causes irritation and itching. Fleas on cats can cause anemia in kittens, they can also transmit tapeworms and bacteria that can cause serious diseases!
Flea feces called “Flea Dirt” is essentially a dried blood, it also falls off the host animal.
A female flea needs blood to produce eggs, she can lay up to 50 eggs a day. Flea eggs fall of the animal into the surrounding environment, your carpet, furniture, bedding etc.
Within two to five days the eggs begin hatching into larvae, these whitish worms-like creatures prefer damp dark places, and their bristly hairs help them attach to carpet and furniture fibers, the larvae feed on the flea feces and other debris.
After about a week a larva begins spinning a cocoon in which it pupates. The pupa fully develops in five to eight days, but the flea may not emerge for months if environmental conditions are not right. While in the cocoon the flea is protected from cold, dryness and even insecticides. When a flea senses a nearby host it emerges from the cocoon hungry for blood and the cycle begins again, the entire life cycle can be as short as 12 to 14 days.