GLP‑1 for overweight cats

A hormone made in the gut tells the brain a meal just happened, and drugs that copy that signal are now being tested in house cats that overeat. Cornell says up to 2 out of 3 cats weigh too much, and extra weight raises the risk of diabetes, makes movement harder, and can shorten life. (cornell.edu) That hormone is called glucagon-like peptide 1, and its job is to slow appetite after eating. In people, drugs that activate the same receptor have become major weight-loss medicines after standard diet changes often failed to produce durable results. (cornell.edu) Cats have a special problem here: you can cut calories on paper, but you cannot explain a diet to an animal that expects the same bowl at the same hour every day. Cornell’s research page says diet plans can work in controlled settings, but many real-world feline weight-loss efforts fail because of both cat behavior and owner behavior. (cornell.edu) Veterinarians usually call a cat obese when body weight is about 20 percent or more above normal, and Cornell calls it the most frequently observed nutritional disorder in domestic cats. The same Cornell guidance links excess weight to osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus, and extra strain on the heart and blood vessels. (cornell.edu) The new drug in this trial is AKS-562c, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist made for cats. Cornell says earlier preclinical work in laboratory cats found that it was safe and effective at limiting food intake before moving into client-owned pets. (cornell.edu) The engineering trick is duration. Instead of a pill or a daily injection, Cornell describes AKS-562c as a once-weekly shot under the skin, which turns a hard-to-maintain daily routine into something closer to a weekly check-in. (dvm360.com) The study is built like a standard blinded drug trial. Enrolled cats get 10 weekly injections of either the drug or a saline placebo, and neither the owner nor the researcher knows which one the cat is receiving during the study. (cornell.edu) Cornell’s main question is simple: does a weekly dose produce measurable weight loss over 11 weeks in overweight or obese client-owned cats. Its second question is just as practical: what side effects show up when the drug is used in ordinary homes instead of a lab colony. (cornell.edu) That “client-owned” detail is the whole point of this phase. Owners have to bring cats in weekly for 12 visits including screening, fill out a history form each time, and allow blood draws at intervals so Cornell can watch for tolerability problems while the cat is living its normal home life. (cornell.edu) Akston Biosciences is sponsoring the project, and Cornell lists the award at $251,457 for a July 2025 to June 2026 project period under principal investigator Patrick Carney. If the drug works, the next step is not “cat Ozempic” overnight; it is larger studies that show the weight comes off safely, stays off, and does not create new problems in older pets that already have other diseases. (cornell.edu)