title: Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XLVIII. Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting domestic cats and wild felids in southern Africa.
abstract: Ticks collected from domestic cats (Felis catus), cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus),caracals (Caracal caracal), African wild cats (Felis lybica), black-footed cats (Felis nigripes), a serval (Leptailurus serval), lions(Panthera leo), and leopards (Panthera pardus) were identified and counted. Thirteen species of ixodid ticks and one argasid tick were identified from domestic cats and 17 species of ixodid ticks from wild felids. The domestic cats and wild felids harboured 11 ixodid species in common. The adults of Haemaphysalis elliptica, the most abundant tick species infesting cats and wild felids, were most numerous on a domestic cat in late winter and in mid-summer, during 2 consecutive years. The recorded geographic distribution of the recently described Haemaphysalis colesbergensis, a parasite of cats and caracals, was extended by 2 new locality records in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa.
authors: Department of Veterinary  Tropical Diseases, Faculty  of Veterinary Science,  University of Pretoria,  South Africa    Department of Zoology  and Entomology,  University of the Free State,  South Africa. ivan.horak@up.ac.za.
authors: Ivan G
authors: IG
authors: Horak
authors: Heloise
authors: H
authors: Heyne
authors: Edward F
authors: EF
authors: Donkin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000469:parasitology; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D002415:Cats; D045989:Felidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012621:Seasons; D013019:South Africa; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000145:classification* / Q000469:parasitology