Congressman Gets Catty Over Obamacare Glitches

By Anneta Konstantinides October 23, 2013

This is how one congressman gets cat-ty over a cat-astrophe.

Hardly any House Republican has missed a chance to criticize the well-publicized glitches plaguing the Obama administration's new health care website - at news conferences, in statements and on Twitter.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., decided to express his concerns today in a different way.

With cats.

The congressman posted "8 Cats Who Called 1-800-ObamaCare but Still Couldn't Get Healthcare" to his official website. The post says it is meant to illustrate that "you're used to seeing this when trying to sign up for insurance at Healthcare.gov."

The Buzzfeed-style listicle features a number of sad kittens, clutching flip phones, passed out on the keyboard, and giving the kind of sad eyes that says "Can't you just once give me Fancy Feast instead of Meow Mix?"

The photos are accompanied by phrases such as "1 AM and there's high call volume" and "You mean I can't keep my healthcare plan?"

Issa even seems to be hip to Internet lingo - or at least his staff is - using the common meme and Reddit spelling "kitteh," as in "Kitteh lost reception."

This isn't the first time the congressman has shown his feline fever, as seen on his Twitter.

The frustrated cats may be cute but there's a serious side too. On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation will begin hearings on went wrong with the health care exchange website's rollout, with testimony scheduled next week from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.