Hefty pets may benefit from Ozempic-style drugs, experts say

Watch out, Garfield.

Ozempic, the wonder drug helping people shed troves of excess weight , may soon have a counterpart available for chunky cats and dogs, as pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop a product pets can use.

A recent small sample study from the startup Okava Pharmaceuticals found that an appetite regulator similar to Ozempic helped cats shed 5% of their body weight in just under four months, Bloomberg reported .

When it comes to dogs, small-animal obesity expert Alex German recently told the Telegraph that new pet-friendly Ozempic-style drugs would succeed as a preventative measure instead of treating existing conditions like diabetes.

Veterinarian Alicia Fox-Pitt agrees.

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“By helping them to stay slimmer, it could help prevent them from developing diabetes in the first place,” she told the Telegraph.

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found in 2022 that 61% of cats and 59% of dogs are overweight.

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Other research found that giving pets leftover meats like a strip or two of bacon can also equate to a majority of their caloric intake for just those few bites.

Experts are also warning that obesity in dogs and cats is often a reflection of how pet owners treat their own bodies.

“There is a similar association between obesity in owners and their pets,” German said.

“The fact that most people see their pets as another member of the family may well explain the similarities between obesity in children and pets,” he added.

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While the surge in demand for Ozempic for weight loss is new, weight loss medicine for pets is hardly a new concept.

A few were released in 2007, but “pet owners did not perceive obesity in their pets as a medical condition that needed treatment,” a spokesman for dog obesity drugmaker Zoetis told Bloomberg, and so the meds left the market.

But since then, humans’ ears have seemed to have perked up.

“There is less obesity-related prejudice now,” German said. “The view that obesity in pets is the fault and responsibility of the owner is flawed, as it can be genetic and is more complex than a failing owner. We should be supporting owners as best we can.”

He’s also optimistic that dogs can stay on a healthy regimen much more efficiently than their owners.

“Although by no means perfect, diet-based strategies are much more successful in dogs than in people,” German said.

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