Fleas Fleas Cat fleas are frequently encountered in homes and are common pests on domestic cats and dogs.
Dog fleas look like cat fleas, but are rare in California.
Fleas on either cats or dogs in California are most likely cat fleas. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts through which they obtain blood meals from their hosts. They hatch in about 2 days. The whitish, wormlike larvae feed on dried blood and excrement produced by adult fleas feeding on the pet. They feed and crawl around for 5 to 15 days at 70 to 90 F before they build small silken cocoons in which they develop into adult fleas.