Death after Buprenorphine in cats

The FDA has received 734 reports of death in cats after Buprenorphine. That is 13% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 8.9% across reports for all cat medicines.

734Reports

97%Marked serious

0.0%Recovered

100%Died or euthanised

1 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

302 45%

1–2 days

181 27%

3–7 days

73 11%

1–4 weeks

66 9.8%

Over a month

50 7.4%

How the animals did

Died

436 59%

Euthanised

298 41%

Problems reported at the same time

244 33%

190 26%

131 18%

129 18%

99 13%

85 12%

83 11%

81 11%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

106

1–3 years

4–7 years

118

8–11 years

123

12+ years

216

About this medicine

Buprenorphine pain relief (an opioid).

Questions owners ask

Can Buprenorphine cause death in cats?: 734 reports link the two, but a report alone does not prove the medicine was the cause: other illnesses, other medicines or coincidence can be involved. Your vet can judge it for your animal.
How soon after a dose was it reported?: In half of the reports with dates, it started within 1 day of the first dose.
What should I do?: Don't give another dose until you've spoken to your vet, and keep the packaging so you can tell them the product and dose. Your vet can also report it to the FDA (or you can, through the manufacturer or FDA form 1932a).

Death with similar medicines

Death after Dexmedetomidine (Dexdomitor) 482 reports · 18% of its reports

All reported side effects of Buprenorphine in cats · Medicines most reported with death