tapeworms sap the strength from your dog or cat. They can eventually kill your pet if you dont get rid of them. They can cause anemia. simply said, the tapeworm eats the food your pet eats, so your pet will not get any of the nourishment it needs to survive. worming a pet is hard on their system. You should be sure your dog or cat has worms before you worm them. If you see worms in the animals stools or your pet vomits worms, then worm them. Or take them to the vet to be sure.
When i first got my cat she was covered in fleas. It wasn't long until the rug was full of fleas too. You could walk on the rugs in white socks and see the fleas on the socks! I had to use a flea bomb to get rid of the fleas in the carpet. Then vacuum everyday for a couple of weeks. It was harder to kill the fleas on the cat because once she found out you were going to spray her or dip her, she'd run. Finally I had to put on gloves and long sleeves with a thick fabric and grab her. That was no fun at all for me or my cat. But, I got rid of the fleas. I tried a flea collar but have never found them to be effective.
The fleas gave the cat a tapeworm. I heard that when an animal has a tapeworm, it has to pass the entire worm or it will grow again in the body. My cat went outside to defecate so I never saw the worm.