Pet Safety / Compounds / Acepromazine

Is Acepromazine safe for dogs and cats?

Moderate risk for pets

Not veterinary or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a veterinarian — consult one about your animal. Full disclaimer →

Widely used pre-anesthetic sedative. Contraindicated in brachycephalic breeds (respiratory depression), giant breeds (prolonged hypotension), and boxers (profound collapse). Avoid in seizure-prone dogs.

What is acepromazine?

The IUPAC name is 1-[10-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]phenothiazin-2-yl]ethanone.

Also known as: Acetylpromazine, Acetopromazine, Acepromazina, Atravet.

IUPAC name
1-[10-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]phenothiazin-2-yl]ethanone
CAS number
61-00-7
Molecular formula
C19H22N2OS
Molecular weight
326.46 g/mol
SMILES
CC(=O)C1=CC2=C(SC3=CC=CC=C3N2CCCN(C)C)C=C1
PubChem CID
6077

Risk for dogs

Moderate risk

Widely used pre-anesthetic sedative. Contraindicated in brachycephalic breeds (respiratory depression), giant breeds (prolonged hypotension), and boxers (profound collapse). Avoid in seizure-prone dogs.

Risk for cats

Moderate risk

Used for sedation; lower doses than dogs. Risk of paradoxical excitation in some individuals. Avoid in hepatic insufficiency.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Acepromazine. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
FDA1960Approved veterinary drug
DEA2020Not a controlled substance

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter acepromazine

  • Veterinary Medicine

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Acepromazine:

  • Dexmedetomidine (more titratable)
    Trade-offs: Alternative approach; specific tradeoffs depend on application context, scale, and regulatory requirements. Full hazard assessment of alternative recommended before adoption to avoid regrettable substitution.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Trazodone (oral anxiolytic, no injection)
    Trade-offs: Alternative approach; specific tradeoffs depend on application context, scale, and regulatory requirements. Full hazard assessment of alternative recommended before adoption to avoid regrettable substitution.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is acepromazine safe for pets?

Widely used pre-anesthetic sedative. Contraindicated in brachycephalic breeds (respiratory depression), giant breeds (prolonged hypotension), and boxers (profound collapse). Avoid in seizure-prone dogs.

Why do regulators disagree about acepromazine?

Acepromazine has been classified by 2 agencies including FDA, DEA, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Acepromazine in the pets app

Look up products containing acepromazine, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in pets View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. —

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →