Can You Get the Plague from Your Cat's Fleas?

Depending on how well you paid attention in your high school history class, you may or may not remember the Black Plague. To review, the Black Plague, or Black Death, was caused by the bubonic plague and was attributed to the deaths of millions of people throughout Europe between 1346-1353. By millions, the Black Death actually wiped out one-third of the population across the European continent.

Although scholars and historians have offered various theories for how the bubonic plague spread so quickly and caused such devastation, including a particular planetary alignment, the leading theory points to rats, specifically the fleas found on rats that hitched a ride on trading ships, infecting one European port after another.

At the time, there was no cure for the bubonic plague and the disease does still exist today; as do fleas, which begs the question why hasn’t a modern Black Death wreaked havoc as it had in the past? For instance, why wouldn’t a flea found on your beloved pet cat not prove as harmful to humans as they have historically when carried on the backs of rats?

The devil, as the saying goes, is in the details.

Facts to Know about Fleas and Disease

First of all, there are different types of fleas and when it comes to the bubonic plague, the Oriental rat flea is the presumed culprit. In fact, it turns out, the common cat flea is normally nothing more than an irritation, provided the problem is dealt with in a timely fashion.

While yes, rat fleas do still exist they tend to favor warmer climates. There are isolated reports of people diagnosed with the plague every year; however, the total number of afflicted is less than 5,000 worldwide, annually.

Thanks to modern medicine and antibiotics, we can now both prevent and cure instances of bubonic plague, a pharmaceutical reality that was not available during the 14th century.

So, while we might be safe from experiencing bubonic plague on a medieval Black Death scale, we are absolutely not immune from rats or cat fleas. These prevalent pests remain a problem for the modern-day homeowner.

A Gruesome Pair: Rats and Cat Fleas

Its name notwithstanding, the cat flea not only feeds on cats but also dogs. So, if you have either or both living under your roof, you might also be providing shelter to cat fleas.

Typically, the presence of fleas on your cat will cause itching that ranges from mild to severe; however, cat fleas can also cause other, more serious diseases, including anemia in kittens, -- and while you’re unlikely to contract the plague from your cat’s fleas, these other ailments all represent very good reasons to keep fleas out of your home and away from your precious pets.

For homeowners eager to get rid of fleas, the biggest challenge results from the fleas’ rapid reproduction rates. Given that a single flea can lay up to 50 eggs in a day, it’s easy to see how quickly a flea or two can turn into an infestation. Bad news for their hosts (your pets) and homeowners, alike.

Similarly, rats are also notorious for reproducing quickly, which historically has made them difficult to control. A single pair of breeding rats can produce an estimated 1,200 pups in a single year. While cat fleas pose health hazards primarily to your pets, rats are vectors for serious diseases like trichinosis, salmonellosis, rat-bite fever, and jaundice, which threaten human health.

In addition, rats can wreak havoc on the structure of your home. From foraging for food, tearing through insulation to build nests, and even chewing on electrical wires -- rodents are responsible for an estimated 20-25% of household fires of unknown causes -- rats prove destructive to the health and safety of your house and household.

In order to protect your loved ones -- both the pet and people variety -- when it comes to these pests, you want the pest pros on your team.

From tiny insects to large rodents, we’ve got you covered for all of your structural pest control needs.