Over a third of young adult cats and two thirds of mature cats in the United States are overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese increases a cat's risk of developing a number of diseases, including diabetes mellitus and arthritis, and is associated with shorter lifespan. While dietary interventions are available and can be highly successful in a controlled (laboratory) setting, anecdotally many weight loss interventions fail in the real world due to both cat and owner factors. Effective methods to substantially increase caloric expenditures (i.e., exercise) are also limited in cats.

A similar problem is seen in human weight management, where non-pharmacologic weight loss interventions are often ineffective. Recently, however, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have been found to effectively and reliably contribute to weight loss in human patients; unlike prior pharmacologic interventions, GLP-1 drugs have an excellent safety profile.

While GLP-1 receptor agonists have been studied in healthy and diabetic cats, there are no published studies of GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss in cats. Akston Biosciences has developed a novel GLP-1 receptor agonist (AKS-562c) for this purpose; preclinical studies conducted in laboratory cats at Cornell University found it to be safe and effective at limiting food intake. The proposed study will evaluate the efficacy of AKS-562c in promoting weight loss in client-owned, overweight or obese cats over an 11-week period.

Objectives:
1. Determine if weekly administration of AKS-562c results in weight loss in client-owned, overweight or obese cats
2. Preliminarily describe common side effects associated with administration of AKS-562 to client-owned, overweight or obese cats