San Francisco-based pharmaceutical company OKAVA is investigating an implant that slowly releases a GLP-1 medication for up to six months
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Margherita Bassi - Daily Correspondent
December 11, 2025 12:00 p.m.
Excess weight can harm a cat’s quality of life and exacerbate health conditions. mammuth via Getty Images
Rotund, “chonky” cats whose pictures and videos end up online often become viral superstars. As adorab…
San Francisco-based pharmaceutical company OKAVA is investigating an implant that slowly releases a GLP-1 medication for up to six months
Margherita Bassi - Daily Correspondent
December 11, 2025 12:00 p.m.
Excess weight can harm a cat’s quality of life and exacerbate health conditions. mammuth via Getty Images
Rotund, “chonky” cats whose pictures and videos end up online often become viral superstars. As adorable as these fat furry friends might be, excess weight jeopardizes their quality of life and can worsen several disorders, such as arthritis and diabetes
Unfortunately, feline weight problems are a growing issue. “Probably 50 percent of cats seen at veterinary clinics these days are overweight, if not obese,” Carolyn McDaniel, a lecturer in clinical sciences at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says in a Cornell Feline Health Center information page.
San Francisco-based pharmaceutical company OKAVA is working toward a potential solution. Last week, OKAVA announced that it had kicked off a clinical trial for OKV-119, a tiny implant that slowly releases a GLP-1 medication to manage weight in cats. The first kitty in the study has been successfully dosed, according to a press release.
GLP-1s, a category of drugs under names including Ozempic and Zepbound, are known for spurring dramatic weight loss in many people. The medications mimic a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that’s produced by the gut after eating and triggers feelings of fullness, slows digestion and helps regulate blood sugar. In humans, GLP-1s have also been effective for conditions including type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and sleep apnea.
As for our fluffy companions, “caloric restriction, or fasting, is one of the most well-established interventions for extending lifespan and improving metabolic health in cats. But it’s also one of the hardest to maintain,” OKAVA CEO Michael Klotsman says in the statement.
“OKV-119 is designed to mimic many of the physiological effects of fasting—improved insulin sensitivity, reduced fat mass and more efficient energy metabolism—without requiring significant changes in feeding routines or disrupting the human–animal bond that often centers around food,” he adds.
Quick fact: How prevalent are overweight pets?
In 2022, 61 percent of cats and 59 percent of dogs in the United States were classified as being as overweight or having obesity, according to a report by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.
OKV-119 is a tiny implant that can be inserted under a cat’s skin during a regular vet visit. For up to six months, it releases a steady dose of exenatide—the first GLP-1 agonist approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for type 2 diabetes back in 2005.
The new study, aptly named MEOW-1 for “management of overweight cats with OKV-119,” is the first GLP-1 weight-loss clinical trial in cats or dogs, according to OKAVA. The company plans to enroll at least 50 cats and have two-thirds of them receive the GLP-1 implant, the New York Times’ Emily Anthes reports. Researchers will track the cats’ progress for three months, after which owners can choose to extend their pets’ participation by another three months.
Results are expected next summer.
Overall, the study is meant to test its safety, tolerability and weight-loss efficacy in overweight or obese domestic cats. OKAVA says that the implant might have “profound” implications for diabetes, kidney disease, healthy aging and longevity, in addition to weight loss, per the press release.
Thomas Lutz, a veterinary physiologist at the University of Zurich who has investigated GLP-1 drugs, tells the Times that he sees “clear benefits” in the use of the medications in animals. “I think what’s really missing are larger-scale clinical studies.” Previous small studies have shown promise about the drugs in pets, enough for some veterinarians to prescribe human GLP-1 drugs off label to cats, per the outlet.
Savannah Tielking, a cat owner interviewed by CBS News’ Ash-har Quraishi, says that she would consider the GLP-1 implant for her four-legged friend. “I think that if my vet came to me and was like, ‘He’s diabetic. We’ve tried everything else. We should consider that’—then most definitely.”
Klotsman tells ABC News’s Mason Leib that OKAVA aims to request FDA approval for OKV-119 in 2027 or 2028, and to keep the out-of-pocket costs for cat parents at about $100 per month.
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