Pet Drug Reports

Melaenain adverse event reports for animal drugs

Clinical sign, a VeDDRA term

In plain words: dark, tarry stool containing digested blood.

Read this first. FDA says this about the data:

An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another. When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event. This dataset should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision-making or other assumptions about the safety or effectiveness of a product. The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine publishes these words. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices, read on . The data have the reports that FDA received through .

This page is not veterinary advice. For an animal that is ill, speak to a veterinarian.

Contacting a veterinarianHow to report to FDA

From March 1987 to June 2026, FDA received 3,740 adverse event reports for animal drugs that list this sign. That is 0.3% of the 1,378,761 reports that FDA received from January 1987 to June 2026. In the 12 months to June 2026, FDA received 33 reports that list this sign.

Of the 3,740 reports, 96% are about dogs. A report can list more than one sign and more than one drug. A report is not proof that a drug caused a sign.

By number of reports in all years, this sign is number 169 of 1,149 clinical signs with a page. Reports that list this sign fell by 38.9% in the 12 months to June 2026, compared with the 12 months before. Reports for all animal drugs fell by 4.6% in the same periods. The newest months can get more reports in a later update. Reports about dogs are 96% of the reports that list this sign, and 72.6% of all reports.

Search engines list a sign page with 3,000 reports or more in all years. The page also needs 300 reports or more in the 12 months to June 2026. This page is under one of these numbers. The site keeps the page and keeps it out of search engines.

Drug pages with reports that list this sign

The table has every drug page with 20 or more reports that list this sign, in order of name. No count decides which drug is in the table. The table has 40 drug pages.

Show the 40 drug pages
Drug pages with 20 or more reports that list this sign, in order of name
Active ingredientsReports that list the sign
Afoxolaner48
Amoxicillin62
Bedinvetmab24
Buprenorphine20
Butorphanol Tartrate28
Carprofen1,420
Cefovecin sodium32
Cefpodoxime proxetil25
Cyclosporine48
Deracoxib493
Dexamethasone24
Diphenhydramine23
Enrofloxacin28
Etodolac97
Famotidine51
Firocoxib283
Fluralaner43
Gabapentin48
Grapiprant54
Isoflurane21
Ivermectin23
Ivermectin + Pyrantel Pamoate79
Lufenuron + Milbemycin Oxime20
Maropitant133
Melarsomine Dihydrochloride53
Meloxicam248
Metronidazole29
Midazolam26
Milbemycin Oxime38
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad37
Moxidectin87
Oclacitinib22
Omeprazole23
Prednisone32
Selamectin74
Selegiline Hydrochloride21
Spinosad22
Sucralfate60
Tepoxalin101
Tramadol47

The openFDA records give the value "MSK" for the brand name and for the manufacturer name of each drug. FDA says that MSK means "masked". So the site cannot count a report for a brand. A report can name more than one drug.

An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another.

The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices

Ingredients, all combinations

The list has every active ingredient with 20 or more reports that list this sign, in order of name. It has 42 ingredients.

Show the 42 ingredients

Reports by species

The share is of the 3,740 reports that list this sign. The sign is in 0.4% of all reports about the species dog. The sign is in 0.1% of all reports about the species cat.

Reports by month and by year

Reports for each month, Jul 2021 to Jun 2026. The month is the month in which FDA received the report.

FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.

Reports that list Melaena, by the year in which FDA received them
YearReports
202618
202546
202439
202326
202227
202124
202026
201944
201861
201762
201668
201594
201472
201390
2012106
2011180
2010225
2009225
2008222
2007247
2006243
2005279
2004291
2003180
2002124
2001158
2000198
1999151
1998118
199751
199610
19955
19943
19933
19924
19914
19902
19892
19886
19876

What these reports record

Outcome at the time of the report

  • Reports with this sign
  • All reports
  • Recovered/Normal3.9%145
  • Recovered with Sequela[recovered, with a lasting effect]0.3%12
  • Ongoing6.1%229
  • Died29.2%1,093
  • Euthanized4%151
  • Outcome Unknown3.6%135

An outcome in a report is not proof that the drug caused it. The person who sends the report gives the outcome. Each share is of the 3,740 reports that list this sign.

Age of the animal

  • Reports with this sign
  • All reports
  • Under 1 year5.8%218
  • 1 to 3 years12.3%459
  • 4 to 7 years23.2%866
  • 8 to 11 years32.1%1,201
  • 12 years and over23.9%893
  • Age not given2.8%103

The outcome is for the full report, not for this sign only.

Next in the A to Z list of signs

All clinical signs

Cite this page

Pet Drug Reports. Melaena: adverse event reports for animal drugs. https://petdrugreports.com/reaction/melaena/ Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event reports, export of . Reports received through .

Where the data come from

The counts come from the openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event files, export of 30 Oct 2026. The files have the reports that the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine received through 26 Jun 2026. The files mask brand and manufacturer names. The site counts a drug by the active ingredients that each record gives, and gives no count to a brand, an application or a company. Ingredient names and the lists of approved products follow the FDA Green Book of 2 Nov 2026. The site counts the different spellings of one VeDDRA term together.

The site does not publish report text, lot numbers or details of a reporter. FDA's record is the authority. See how the site counts reports, the data sources and the corrections page.

Questions about this sign

What does this term mean in a report?

In plain words: dark, tarry stool containing digested blood. It is a term from VeDDRA, the list of terms that FDA and drug companies use to code a report. The person who coded the report selected the term.

How does the count of the latest 12 months compare with the 12 months before?

FDA received 33 reports in the 12 months to June 2026. It received 54 reports in the 12 months before. FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.

How many of these reports have a serious flag?

Of the 717 reports that say if the event was serious, 80.2% have the serious flag. The person who sends a report sets the flag.

Does a drug in the table cause this sign?

The reports do not show that. A report can name more than one drug. FDA states this about the data.

When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event.

The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices