Lysine

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102 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
102
Total Reports
19
Deaths Reported
1860.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Lysine

Administration Routes

UnknownOralTopical

Species Affected

Cat 99
Dog 2
Cattle 1

Most Affected Breeds

Domestic Shorthair 59
Domestic Mediumhair 7
Domestic Longhair 5
Cat (unknown) 4
American Curl Shorthair 4
Persian 3
Siamese 3
Cat (other) 3
Ragdoll 2
Bengal 2

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 18
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 17
Lack of efficacy - NOS 15
Decreased appetite 10
Anorexia 10
Death by euthanasia 8
Behavioural disorder NOS 8
Vocalisation 8
Ataxia 8
Death 8
Other abnormal test result NOS 7
Weight loss 7

Outcome Breakdown

Ongoing
36 (35.0%)
Outcome Unknown
30 (29.1%)
Recovered/Normal
18 (17.5%)
Died
11 (10.7%)
Euthanized
8 (7.8%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 102
Reports involving death 19
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1860.0%
Distinct species in reports 3
Distinct breeds in reports 18
Distinct reactions reported 20
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Lysine Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 102 adverse event reports referencing Lysine, including 19 reports in which the animal died — a 1860.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Lysine. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Oral, Topical. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Lysine reports are Cat (99 reports), Dog (2 reports), Cattle (1 reports), with Cat accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Domestic Shorthair (59), Domestic Mediumhair (7), Domestic Longhair (5) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Lysine are Vomiting (18), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (17), Lack of efficacy - NOS (15), Decreased appetite (10). Of the 103 reports with a coded outcome, Ongoing is the leading category at 35.0%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Lysine.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial