A cat that weighed 8.48 kilograms (18.7 pounds) in Türkiye's southwestern province Aydın lost 1.64 kilograms in four months with the "stomach botox" method usually only used on humans.
Veterinarian Burak Antakyalıoğlu in Aydın helped the cat, named "Oscar." "No one has used it on (cats) before. But I adjusted the dosage and tried on Oscar and got very good results," he said.
Serhat Pekaydın, who works as a warehouse manager for a company in the Efeler neighborhood of Aydın adopted the stray cat two years ago. Due to his cat’s weight problem, he took Oscar to Antakyalıoğlu, who saw no results after putting the feline on a strict diet.
After discussing the options with Pekaydın, an operation was arranged to try “stomach botox" via an endoscopic procedure. Over the course of four months and with a strict diet, the cat slowly lost weight.
Antakyalıoğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the normal weight of Oscar's breed is around 4-5 kilograms. Explaining that excess weight can also cause death in cats, Antakyalıoğlu added that methods such as reducing meals and low-fat food do not always yield results.
"Oscar opens the refrigerator, steals the food or runs to his neighbor's door and eats there. The owner says he did everything he could to help the cat lose weight but nothing worked. Then, he heard of stomach botox, which has been very popular among people in recent years.
"He researched stomach botox and wondered if it could be used on his cat," he added.
Pekaydın then discussed the option with the veterinarian, who researched the appropriate dose. After adjusting the dosage, they tried it on Oscar and successfully got very good results.
Pekaydın said was very grateful for Antakyalıoğlu's efforts and thanked him for the successful treatment.
