Ozempic for cats? GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are coming for your fat pet

Felix is five years old, loves food, and refuses to lose weight.

His owner, Amy in Dallas, has tried cutting back on meals, but with two cats in the house, “he just gobbles down all the food,” she said. The extra pounds worry her because she knows obesity can shorten a cat’s life and strain its joints and heart.

“I’ve actually thought about it,” she said of the potential of weight loss drugs for pets. “If they can make one for my cat, that would be great.”

It may sound far-fetched, but the idea is already moving from wishful thinking toward veterinary research. Two U.S. biotech companies are testing experimental GLP-1 weight-loss treatments for overweight cats, marking one of the earliest attempts to bring the blockbuster drug class into pet medicine.

Meanwhile, some of the world’s largest pet-food makers are investing heavily in nutrition and longevity products aimed at many of the same health problems.

The GLP-1 boom spearheaded by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly has already reshaped how millions of people think about obesity, diabetes, and food. Now, the same class of drugs is spilling over into a new market: household pets.

Akston Biosciences is sponsoring a Cornell University clinical study of a once-weekly GLP-1 therapy for overweight and obese cats, while San Francisco-based OKAVA Pharmaceuticals has begun testing a long-acting implant designed to deliver the medicine continuously for up to six months.

Neither product is approved, and there is currently no commercial “Ozempic for cats.” Both remain early-stage clinical trials that will need to demonstrate they are safe and effective before reaching veterinarians.

The studies point to a broader shift already underway in pet care. As owners spend more on premium food, supplements, diagnostics and veterinary treatments, it’s creating new opportunities for biotech alongside traditional pet-food companies.

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 61% of cats and 59% of dogs evaluated by U.S. veterinary professionals in 2022 were classified as overweight or obese, highlighting the scale of a problem long familiar to veterinarians.

Cats present a particularly difficult challenge. Unlike dogs, they cannot simply be taken on longer walks, often resist dietary changes, and can be difficult to medicate consistently, making GLP-1 therapies potentially attractive if clinical trials prove successful.

“Feline obesity is one of the most common yet least effectively treated health issues in veterinary medicine,” Akston CEO Todd Zion said in November as the company announced the clinical trial for GLP-1 for pets.

The Akston-sponsored trial carried out by Cornell University will evaluate about 70 overweight or obese cats over roughly three months. OKAVA’s study is testing an implant inserted by a veterinarian that…