Jumpy over cat's fleas

Our vet DAVID GRANT works his magic

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I found a flea on my cat and have treated her with a pet shop spot-on. I also have two three-year-old rabbits. Can they be infested with fleas and if so, what is the best treatment? Could I use the same treatment as the one for my cat?

Whether your rabbits can catch fleas from your cats depends on the shared living arrangements. If the rabbits are house rabbits and can move about on carpets and other cat resting places, flea infestation is highly likely.

I can explain this by a short summary of some aspects of the flea life-cycle.

Fleas found on cats are invariably Ctenocephalides felis, which is an extraordinarily successful flea. The female lays around 50 eggs per day and unsurprisingly it doesn't take long for a sizeable infestation to build up in the environment - carpets, cat beds and the like.