The FDA adverse-event record for cat

Cat Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database holds 114,712 adverse event reports for Cat, distributed across 65 distinct breeds currently tracked in the system. Of those reports, 9,289 involved a death outcome, producing a 8.1% case-fatality rate among reported events, which reflects reporting severity bias rather than true population mortality. These figures are aggregated directly from openFDA's Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events endpoint and update as new voluntary submissions flow through pet owners, veterinarians, and drug manufacturers.

The most frequently reported clinical signs for Cat are Vomiting (14,016 reports), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (9,864 reports), Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea (9,846 reports), Application site hair loss (7,490 reports), with Vomiting leading the reaction traffic at 14,016 submissions. On the product side, Selamectin is the single most-referenced drug with 13,878 reports, followed by Spinosad (11,650), Fluralaner Spot-On Solution (9,616), Nitenpyram (7,460). This combination surfaces which therapeutic classes generate the most adverse event chatter for this species, a useful starting point when comparing Cat reporting patterns against other companion animals in the dataset.

Of the 107,459 Cat reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown accounts for the largest share at 33.7%. Annual submission volume spans 2,010 to 2,025 reports across the 16 years on file, a range that reflects evolving owner awareness, veterinary reporting habits, and new product approvals rather than stable underlying incidence. The breed-level table below breaks these patterns down further, showing how the 65 tracked cat breeds compare on volume, deaths, and average age at report. As with all FDA adverse event data, correlation is the ceiling, causation requires clinical investigation beyond what these aggregates can provide.