A group of Members and their staffers will gather in the Rayburn House Office Building at 4 p.m. to be briefed on the problem of fat cats in America.

No … not the monied interests of political caricature, but actual obese cats — and other pets. According to the Banfield Pet Hospital, this is, ahem, a growing problem.

Lawmakers, staffers and pets will be briefed on the hospital’s 2012 State of Pet Health Report, which found that since 2007, cat obesity has risen by 90 percent and dog obesity by 37 percent. Among the attendees will be Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.),
a veterinarian.

Danielle Paleafico, a spokeswoman for the Banfield Pet Hospital, the host of the briefing, said the issue has gained national attention as of late, with media appearances by fat animals such as Meow, the 37-pound cat who was pictured on the lap of the eponymous television host Anderson Cooper, and Obie, the 77-pound daschund from Portland, Ore.

The event will precede Capitol Hill’s “Pet Night.”