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.
