The fat cats may soon be slimmed down

Speaking of weight loss drugs, they’re now coming to the rest of the animal kingdom: GLP-1 implant may help overweight pets

A California company, Okava Pharmaceuticals, has launched a clinical trial testing a GLP-1-based weight loss treatment in 50 cats. The treatment uses a small under-the-skin implant, called OKV-119, designed to release medication slowly over six months.

The study, called MEOW-1, is one of the first of its kind.

According to the company, it "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."

Experts say about 60% of cats in the United States are overweight, which increases the risk of diabetes and other health problems.

"In veterinary medicine for the last 100 years, the only prescription we had was feed less, exercise more, and that just doesn't work for all types of obesity," Dr. Ernie Ward, a veterinarian and pet obesity expert, told CBS News.

Ward said the biggest unknowns include cost, side effects and how well the implant actually works. Okava estimates the medication may cost pet owners around $100 per month if it's approved.

As an aside, I made a lightning visit to Greenwich this weekend and was treated to dinner at the RYC by Gideon and Susie. A fine time was had by all, but I noticed that a number of members, although still swells, of course — it’s still a yacht club, for God’s sake — looked a lot thinner than I’d remembered them, and, subtle questioning addressed to a third party confirmed my observation: “the club’s gone Ozemic”, my source said. “In fact, the whole town has”.

Hmmm. I haven’t seen any marked difference in the body types of Walmart shoppers in the Somerset, NH branch where I buy my groceries — most everyone there continues to look very well fed — but I may violate my principles and in the interest of sociological research visit the Portsmouth, NH Whole Foods store — anyone willing to spend $6.49 for a two-pack of gluten-free organic hamburger rolls can probably also be persuaded to fork over a few hundred bucks a month to fit into his yoga pants, eh? I’ll report back.