Ectoparasites of Free-Roaming Domestic Cats in the Central United States
Veterinary Parasitology 228 (2016) 17–22 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Veterinary Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar Research paper Ectoparasites of free-roaming domestic cats in the central United States a b,1 a a,∗ Jennifer E. Thomas , Lesa Staubus , Jaime L. Goolsby , Mason V. Reichard a Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 250 McElroy Hall Stillwater, OK 74078, USA b Department of Clinical Science, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 1 Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital Stillwater, OK 74078, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Free-roaming domestic cat (Felis catus) populations serve as a valuable resource for studying ectoparasite Received 11 May 2016 prevalence. While they share a similar environment as owned cats, free-roaming cats do not receive rou- Received in revised form 27 July 2016 tine veterinary care or ectoparasiticide application, giving insight into parasite risks for owned animals. Accepted 29 July 2016 We examined up to 673 infested cats presented to a trap-neuter-return (TNR) clinic in the central United States. Ectoparasite prevalences on cats were as follows: fleas (71.6%), ticks (18.7%), Felicola subrostratus Keywords: (1.0%), Cheyletiella blakei (0.9%), and Otodectes cynotis (19.3%). Fleas, ticks, and O. cynotis were found in Cat all months sampled. A total of 1117 fleas were recovered from 322 infested cats. The predominate flea Feline recovered from cats was Ctenocephalides felis (97.2%) followed by Pulex spp.
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