Research overview: demodectic mange in wild felids

Demodex mites live in the skin of many mammals, usually harmlessly, but can proliferate to cause demodectic mange when host immunity falters. This overview surveys reports of demodicosis in wild and captive felids, the conditions, including immunosuppression and stress, that allow these normally commensal mites to cause disease, and how it differs from the contagious sarcoptic and notoedric manges. It examines diagnosis through skin scrapings, the host-specificity of Demodex species, and what mange outbreaks reveal about underlying health. The synthesis frames demodicosis as another ectoparasitic disease that signals compromised immunity rather than primary infection. It aims to help readers distinguish the different forms of mange affecting wild cats and to understand demodicosis as an opportunistic condition tied to the broader physiological state of the animal.