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The WireBy The VeterinaryPracticeNow Desk2 min readOctober 29, 2026
FDA approves ready-to-use cefovecin for dogs that contains excipients toxic to cats
Zoetis received FDA approval for Convenia RTU for Dogs, a cefovecin injectable at 160 mg/mL that contains benzyl benzoate and propylene glycol.
The FDA approved Convenia RTU for Dogs, a ready-to-use cefovecin injectable that contains excipients toxic to cats.
Zoetis received approval for the formulation. According to the FDA, the product is indicated for "treating skin infections caused by susceptible strains of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Streptococcus canis (Group G)" in dogs. It shares the active ingredient, cefovecin sodium, a third-generation cephalosporin, with the original Convenia approved in 2008 for both dogs and cats. The FDA states that "the new formulation contains benzyl benzoate and propylene glycol," excipients that may be toxic to cats.
The formulation change and what it costs
Convenia RTU for Dogs comes at 160 mg/mL, double the concentration of the original product. According to the FDA, it is "supplied in a 10-mL multidose vial containing 1,600 mg of cefovecin." The agency instructs "veterinarians to shake the vial for 60 seconds before each use and administer" the suspension using a 20-gauge needle.
The ready-to-use format changes the workflow for practices. For mixed practices, it adds a protocol burden: you now stock two cefovecin products with the same brand name, one safe for cats and one that is not, and a dispensing error puts a cat at risk.
The inventory decision practices face
Practices now decide whether to carry both formulations or switch canine cases entirely to the RTU. The ready-to-use product changes the handling compared to a product that requires reconstitution.
Practices that treat a meaningful feline caseload may keep the 2008 formulation as their only stock and skip the RTU entirely. Practices that skew heavily canine may do the opposite. The middle, carrying both, requires dispensing protocols that make species verification a hard stop before any cefovecin dose leaves the treatment area.
The FDA approval does not include pricing or availability details. Without those, the stocking decision stays theoretical. The concentration difference, 160 mg/mL versus the original formulation's concentration, changes the dosing volume for large dogs and the per-vial dose yield, which matters for inventory turns, but only once we know what a vial costs.
Our read
This changes workflow for practices, and it creates a liability question for mixed practices. The cat-toxicity risk is real, and dispensing errors happen.
We'd watch three things. First, whether Zoetis keeps both formulations in production or phases one out, which would force mixed practices to rework their feline skin-infection protocols. Second, the price. Third, how practices that do stock both products label them in the treatment area. A vial marked "DOGS ONLY" in Sharpie on the cap is better than nothing, but it is not a system.
The product is available by prescription through licensed veterinarians. Zoetis is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
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