Rat: adverse event reports for animal drugs
Species
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 FDAFrom March 1987 to May 2026, FDA received 152 adverse event reports about rats for animal drugs. That is under 0.1% of the 1,378,761 reports that FDA received from January 1987 to June 2026.
In the 12 months to June 2026, FDA received 11 reports about rats. The signs that appear in the largest number of the 152 reports are "Death", "Ineffective, anesthesia" and "Death by euthanasia". A report is not proof that a drug caused a sign.
Since the last update of the FDA data
The site recorded an update of the FDA data on . 1 drug page with reports about rats has a different count. Open the update
Drug pages with reports about rats
The table has every drug page with 20 or more reports about rats, in order of name. No count decides which drug is in the table. The table has 2 drug pages.
| Active ingredients | Reports about rats |
|---|---|
| Isoflurane | 20 |
| Ketamine Hydrochloride | 66 |
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.
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.
Commonly used products may have a higher number of reported adverse events due to the higher total number of animals being given the product.
FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices
Signs that the reports list
A sign is a coded term from the report. The words in brackets are a plain gloss of the term. The percentage is the share of the 152 reports about rats that list the sign.
The sign that is in the largest number of the reports comes first.
- Death52%79 reports
- Ineffective, anesthesia[legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (anesthesia)]16.4%25 reports
- Death by euthanasia[the animal was euthanized]9.9%15 reports
- Lack of efficacy - NOS[the product did not have the expected effect]8.6%13 reports
- Apnoea[breathing stopped]5.3%8 reports
- Ineffective, sedation[legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (sedation)]5.3%8 reports
- Necropsy performed3.3%5 reports
- Cyanosis[bluish gums or skin from low oxygen]2.6%4 reports
- Unrelated death2.6%4 reports
- Ataxia[unsteady, uncoordinated movement]2%3 reports
- Cardiac arrest2%3 reports
- Dyspnoea[difficulty breathing]2%3 reports
- Injection site scab[scab where the injection was given]2%3 reports
- Injection site ulcer[ulcer where the injection was given]2%3 reports
Show the next 16 signs
- Pain NOS[NOS: not otherwise specified]2%3 reports
- Abnormal histology NOS[NOS: not otherwise specified]1.3%2 reports
- Anorexia[not eating]1.3%2 reports
- Behavioural disorder NOS[behaviour change, type not specified]1.3%2 reports
- Color, Abnormal[a product quality report, not a sign in an animal]1.3%2 reports
- Convulsion[seizure]1.3%2 reports
- Dehydration1.3%2 reports
- Depression[dull, quiet or withdrawn]1.3%2 reports
- Dysphagia1.3%2 reports
- Eye disorder NOS (for Photophobia see neurological)1.3%2 reports
- Hypothermia[low body temperature]1.3%2 reports
- Ineffective, delayed effect[legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (delayed effect)]1.3%2 reports
- Injection site dermatitis[inflamed skin where the injection was given]1.3%2 reports
- Injection site infection[infection where the injection was given]1.3%2 reports
- Injection site necrosis[necrosis where the injection was given]1.3%2 reports
- Medication error NOS[a mistake in giving the product, type not specified]1.3%2 reports
Reports by month and by year
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.
| Year | Reports |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2024 | 6 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2012 | 7 |
| 2011 | 26 |
| 2010 | 10 |
| 2009 | 5 |
| 2008 | 3 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| 2005 | 3 |
| 2004 | 6 |
| 2003 | 2 |
| 2002 | 7 |
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2000 | 2 |
| 1999 | 2 |
| 1996 | 3 |
| 1995 | 3 |
| 1994 | 3 |
| 1992 | 2 |
| 1991 | 1 |
| 1989 | 1 |
| 1988 | 1 |
| 1987 | 2 |
What the reports record
Age of the animal
- Under 1 year34.2%52
- 1 to 3 years7.9%12
- 4 to 7 years0%0
- 8 to 11 years0%0
- 12 years and over0%0
- Age not given57.9%88
Weight of the animal
- Under 5 kg (11 lb)44.1%67
- 5 to 9.9 kg (11 to 22 lb)0%0
- 10 to 24.9 kg (22 to 55 lb)0%0
- 25 to 44.9 kg (55 to 99 lb)0.7%1
- 45 kg and over (99 lb and over)0.7%1
- Weight not given54.6%83
Outcome at the time of the report
- Reports about rats
- All reports
- Recovered/Normal5.3%8, All reports: 20.7%
- Recovered with Sequela[recovered, with a lasting effect]0%0, All reports: 2.3%
- Ongoing0.7%1, All reports: 17.4%
- Died57.9%88, All reports: 4.9%
- Euthanized9.9%15, All reports: 1.5%
- Outcome Unknown9.2%14, All reports: 22.7%
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 152 reports about rats.
Kind of report
- Reports about rats
- All reports
- Safety issue86.8%132, All reports: 64.5%
- Lack of expected effectiveness3.9%6, All reports: 18.9%
- Both safety and lack of expected effectiveness6.6%10, All reports: 4.3%
- Manufacturing or product defect2%3, All reports: 12.2%
- Other0.7%1, All reports: 0.1%
Each share of age, weight and kind is of the 152 reports about rats. The thin bar is the same share in all 1,378,761 reports.
Ingredients, all combinations
The list has every active ingredient with 20 or more reports about rats, in order of name. It has 2 ingredients.
Cite this page
Pet Drug Reports. Rat: adverse event reports for animal drugs. https://petdrugreports.com/species/rat/ 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 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 these reports
- What ages are the rats in the reports?
The figures are shares of the 152 reports about rats received from March 1987 to May 2026. 34.2% give an age of under 1 year. 7.9% give an age of 1 to 3 years. 57.9% give no age.
- How does the count of the latest 12 months compare with the 12 months before?
FDA received 11 reports in the 12 months to June 2026. It received 3 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.
- What kinds of report are in the count?
Of the 152 reports received from March 1987 to May 2026, 86.8% are about a safety issue only. 10.5% are about a lack of expected effectiveness, alone or with a safety issue. 2% are about a defect of the product or its package.
- Do more reports for rats show a higher risk for rats?
No. FDA states 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.
Commonly used products may have a higher number of reported adverse events due to the higher total number of animals being given the product.
FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices