Death after Carprofen (Rimadyl) in cats

The FDA has received 164 reports of death in cats after Carprofen. That is 9.6% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 8.9% across reports for all cat medicines.

164Reports

10%Marked serious

0.0%Recovered

98%Died or euthanised

1 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

5 33%

1–2 days

6 40%

3–7 days

2 13%

1–4 weeks

2 13%

Over a month

0 0.0%

How the animals did

Died

151 92%

Euthanised

10 6.1%

Not known

3 1.8%

Problems reported at the same time

62 38%

51 31%

49 30%

47 29%

41 25%

33 20%

23 14%

18 11%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Carprofen relieves pain and inflammation from arthritis or after surgery.

Products with this ingredient include Rimadyl, Novox, Vetprofen. The FDA hides brand names in its public data, so these reports cover every product with the same active ingredients.

NSAIDs can affect the stomach, liver and kidneys. Vets usually recommend blood tests before and during long-term use.

Questions owners ask

Can Carprofen cause death in cats?: 164 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 Meloxicam (Metacam) 865 reports · 24% of its reports
Death after Robenacoxib (Onsior) 531 reports · 16% of its reports
Death after Deracoxib (Deramaxx) 27 reports · 27% of its reports

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