Death after Praziquantel + Pyrantel in cats

The FDA has received 81 reports of death in cats after Praziquantel + Pyrantel. That is 6.4% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 8.9% across reports for all cat medicines.

81Reports

64%Marked serious

0.0%Recovered

100%Died or euthanised

2 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

15 31%

1–2 days

17 35%

3–7 days

3 6.3%

1–4 weeks

5 10%

Over a month

8 17%

How the animals did

Died

57 70%

Euthanised

24 30%

Problems reported at the same time

26 32%

21 26%

19 23%

16 20%

12 15%

10 12%

9 11%

8 9.9%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Praziquantel treats tapeworms. Pyrantel treats roundworms and hookworms.

Questions owners ask

Can Praziquantel + Pyrantel cause death in cats?: 81 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 2 days 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 Emodepside + Praziquantel (Profender) 270 reports · 4.7% of its reports
Death after Praziquantel 101 reports · 6.1% of its reports
Death after Pyrantel 110 reports · 20% of its reports
Death after Fenbendazole 60 reports · 21% of its reports

All reported side effects of Praziquantel + Pyrantel in cats · Medicines most reported with death