--- title: "Scientists Testing GLP-1s for Overweight Dogs and Cats" description: "Scientists are set to begin new trials testing the use of GLP-1 drugs similar to Ozempic and Wegovy in pets." date: "2025-12-05" modified: "2025-12-05" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/health-medicine/scientists-testing-ozempic-dogs-cats" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" --- # Scientists Testing GLP-1s for Overweight Dogs and Cats ![Scientists are set to begin new trials testing the use of GLP-1 drugs similar to Ozempic and Wegovy in pets.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* Your pet dog or cat might soon be a chubby little munchkin no more. Welcome to the burgeoning era of — we swear we're not making this up — "ozempets," in which your servile critters might shed some extra pounds by taking animal-focused diabetes and weight loss drugs similar to Ozempic and Wegovy. It hasn't quite happened yet, but it's seemingly about to. As the [*New York Times* reports](), a San Francisco based biopharmaceutical firm called Okava Pharmaceuticals is expected to announce the first pilot study of using these drugs, which are known as GLP-1 agonists, on obese cats. Spoiled as ever, the cats won't even need to receive regularly injections of the drug. In a setup that seems designed to fuel conspiracy theories but is intended to make the treatment more convenient for owners, the cats will instead be injected with microchip-sized implants that slowly release the drug for periods up to six months, according to the reporting. Okava hopes to carry out similar trials in dogs. "You insert that capsule under the skin, and then you come back six months later, and the cat has lost the weight," Chen Gilor, a veterinarian at the University of Florida, who is leading the study, told the *NYT*. "It's like magic." Originally intended to treat diabetes, GLP-1 agonist drugs mimic a gut hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels, but also your appetite. Its hunger-suppressing properties have made it a [blockbuster drug for helping people lose weight](). The idea of using them on pets will undoubtedly lead to whole new territories of ethical quandary. It's already the case that dogs and cats have been selectively bred to conform to strict human beauty standards, sometimes with [no regard to how it affects the animals' well-being](). Now, we're demanding our pets further conform to our idea of a trim body-type by foisting brand new drugs upon them. On the other hand, maybe some pets could really use it for the sake of their own health, especially if their lazy owners aren't making sure they get enough exercise or paying close enough attention to their diet. As the *NYT* notes, roughly 60 percent of dogs and cats in the US are obese, with hundreds of thousands of them suffering from diabetes as well, according to Gilor. Some veterinarians are already prescribing GLP-1 drugs intended for humans to pets, with one veterinary endocrinologist at Texas A&M telling the *NYT* he uses the drugs a "handful of times a year" in diabetic cats. Perhaps it was just a matter of time before we made it official. "I think this is going to be the next big thing," Ernie Ward, a veterinarian and the founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, told the *NYT*. Veterinarians, he claimed, are "on the precipice of a complete new era in obesity medicine." **More on GLP-1 drugs:** [*Low Doses of Ozempic-Like Drug Can Counteract Aging in Older Mice, Study Finds*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()