Over 60 percent of dogs and cats are overweight.
And that's why pharmaceutical companies are now in the process of testing weight loss drugs on overweight pets.
On the Big K Morning Show, Dr. Mike Hutchinson of Animal General says his #1 concern is safety.
“So now, everybody’s looking for a simple fix, an injection that we can give that will get that weight off,” said Dr. Hutchinson of Animal General in Cranberry.
San Francisco-based Okava Pharmaceuticals just launched a six-month clinical study of cats receiving GLP-1 medication.
On the Big K Morning Show, Dr. Mike said trials are a must to make sure a treatment is safe:
“And I’ll stay abreast, I’ll know if it’s safe or not, believe me,” said Dr. Hutchinson. “A lot of people are paying attention to it. But that’s what I worry about is that it might not be as safe as we think it is, even in people,” said Dr.
Hutchinson.
He says those weight loss drugs for pets are still at least two years away from hitting the market.