Abstract
Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) also referred to as flea bite hypersensitivity (FBH) is the most common pruritic skin disease of cats. In the vast majority of cases, the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis felis. (C. felis), is isolated (Dryden, 1989; Dryden and Rust, 1994). Fleas are undesirable ectoparasites that in addition to FAD may cause anaemia, transmit Dipylidium caninum, Rickettsia felis and Bartonella henselae which is responsible for cat scratch fever (Kelly et al 2005) and potentially act as vectors for the feline immunodeficiency and feline leukaemia viruses (Vobis et al. 2003a;Vobis et al. 2003b).This article summarises the life cycle of the cat flea and then deals with the immunopathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnosis and management of feline FAD.
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