Can tapeworms that infect sheep/goats also infect cats?
No, not to my knowledge. Sheep/goats harbor anoplocephalid tapeworms
that use arthropods as intermediate hosts. They ingest arthropods
(often free-living mites) while grazing.
Cats, on the other hand, most often have Dipylidium caninum, a
tapeworm whose intermediate hosts are dog and cat fleas, and species
of Taenia, whose intermediate hosts are rats, mice, etc. Rarely,
cats may be infected with Echinococcus multilocularis, whose
intermediate hosts are voles, etc.
The life cycle of Dipylidium in cats is very rapid, and if all fleas
are not eliminated, reinfection occurs very, very fast.
A.K. Prestwood
prestwood.a at calc.vet.uga.edu
