# Why Doesn't my Cat have Fleas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449 "2003-03-01T21:17:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/1 "2003-03-01T21:17:54Z")
I have had a lot of cats and dogs in my life, and lived in a variety of different places and climates in the US. And I have always had to deal with flea problems both on the animals and in my house. In the old days we had these smelly flea collars or toxic powders we used to spinkle all over the animals (and ourselves), but now most people use something like Advantage, a few drops on the back of the neck once a month seems to take care of most any problem. But the two year old cat I have now, who is an indoor/ourdoor cat, never seems to have any fleas or ticks on her… ever. We live next door to a vacant lot, covered in weeds, up in the hills and there must be billions of fleas around. What’s the deal… not that I’m complaining mind you. So the question to the group is… have you ever had a cat (or dog for that matter) that year round never had any fleas on them whatsoever? Is is possible my cat has some odd chemical makeup that makes her repell fleas? Could she be much cleaner than most cats? I sincerely doubt that… any ideas people? ---
**Author:** ![Indefatigable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9d8465/32.png) [@Indefatigable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indefatigable)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/2 "2003-03-01T21:46:04Z")
Not a clue. 😕 I do know that some _people_ get left alone by fleas. We had two indoor/outdoor cats once, and one year our house ended up infested with fleas. My father and I got eaten alive, but my mother and sister and brother were hardly touched. So there’s a weedy vacant lot… do other cats and dogs hang out there? Are there rats and mice for her to hunt? If yes, I can’t imagine why she would remain flea-less. I wonder if there’s some climatological factor to flea populations… we certainly didn’t have a flea problem every single year that we lived in that house, and we always had cats. Oh, and I don’t know if they still sell those smelly flea collars-- the ones with white powder on one side and glossy brown stuff on the other-- but one of our cats got a nasty skin condition on the back of his neck from one of those, and my grandmother’s cat ended up at the vet clinic for a few days with liver problems. His little pink nose was yellow. ☹ We all switched to Advantage (or whatever was the equivalent at the time) after that. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/3 "2003-03-01T21:50:50Z")
I used to have 2 outdoor dogs and 2 outdoor cats that never seemed to get fleas or ticks. We had lots of weedy and wooded areas around, so I thought it was strange, too. But they never had any problems. One of my dogs (a Rottweiler) would have BIG problems with _flies_ in the summertime, though. If I didn’t keep rubbing repellant all over his head, they would swarm behind his ears and leave quite a mess (vicious biters, they were). ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/4 "2003-03-01T22:33:33Z")
Fleas find their way from one host to another via various methods. Direct contact is not necessary, but the presence of other host animals at some point is. If, for instance, the weedy lot next to you is relatively free of other animals, especially wild animals, there isn’t much reason for fleas and flea eggs to be there. If other domestic animals frequent that lot, they may be flea-free via various treatments administered by their owners. It isn’t a given that wildlife is going to have fleas, so even if there’s a fairly high level of wildlife activity, there may not be a high level of flea activity. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/5 "2003-03-01T23:20:16Z")
I lived for 11 years with a cat who often spent the night outdoors, and led a flea-free life except for one summer. We lived in Massachusetts and New York for the whole time, except for three months in Florida, during which time she was constantly a fleabag. I assumed that the climate made the difference. ---
**Author:** ![richardb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/96bed5/32.png) [@richardb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/richardb)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/6 "2003-03-02T00:47:30Z")
It is possible (and perhaps even likely) that the answer is you are mistaken. Your cat may indeed have fleas, it is just that you haven’t seen them. From this site: [http://www.marvistavet.com/html/page26267.html](http://www.marvistavet.com/html/page26267.html) > [@](#): > > … in about 90% of cases where the owner tells us the pet does not have fleas, we find obvious fleas when the animal is flea combed. Despite the TV commercials, the educational pamphlets, the very common nature of the parasite, there are still some very large awareness problems in the public and a multitude of misconceptions. > > Flea Myths You Will Hear: > > … > > ``` > * My pet cannot have fleas because I would see them. > > (One cannot expect to see fleas as many animals are especially adept at licking them away. Sometimes all we see is the characteristic skin disease.) > > ``` A veritable plethora of flea information can be gained from this site; the home page for the Flea Control section is: [The Flea Control Center](http://www.marvistavet.com/html/the_flea_control_center.htm) ---
**Author:** ![richardb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/96bed5/32.png) [@richardb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/richardb)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/7 "2003-03-02T00:50:21Z")
Whoops! left out that last “l”: [The Flea Control Center](http://www.marvistavet.com/html/the_flea_control_center.html) ---
**Author:** ![CourtneyBussmann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@CourtneyBussmann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CourtneyBussmann)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/8 "2017-07-30T17:36:40Z")
I know this question was posted forever ago… 14 years now but still curious on if this was ever figured out, I have a now senior cat who despite the major flea infestations has never had a flea even the vet has never found any indication of him having fleas I adopted him from a shelter when he was around 3 years old so I’m not sure what could have happened then that could be the reason to this or if it’s just something in his chemistry all together my vetis and I are both stumped any possible insight would be appreciated ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-my-cat-have-fleas/158449/9 "2017-07-31T03:57:35Z")
The silence here is deafening … I think **dolphinboy** stumped the SDMB …