Drooling after Mirtazapine (Mirataz) in cats

The FDA has received 123 reports of drooling in cats after Mirtazapine. That is 6.5% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 5.6% across reports for all cat medicines.

123Reports

48%Marked serious

29%Recovered

22%Died or euthanised

1 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

43 39%

1–2 days

18 16%

3–7 days

15 14%

1–4 weeks

11 9.9%

Over a month

24 22%

How the animals did

Recovered

36 29%

Still unwell when reported

30 24%

Died

8 6.5%

Euthanised

19 15%

Not known

30 24%

Problems reported at the same time

43 35%

39 32%

26 21%

26 21%

21 17%

20 16%

20 16%

Restlessness or agitation

19 15%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Mirtazapine stimulates appetite (cats: ointment applied to the ear).

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

Questions owners ask

Can Mirtazapine cause drooling in cats?: 123 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).

Drooling with similar medicines

Drooling after Maropitant (Cerenia) 438 reports · 11% of its reports
Drooling after Capromorelin (Entyce) 173 reports · 21% of its reports

All reported side effects of Mirtazapine in cats · Medicines most reported with drooling