U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse was one of 31 U.S. representatives who requested information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this week about the nature and extent of experimentation on cats, following disclosure of such practices by an advocacy group.

“We understand from materials recently released under the Freedom of Information Act, including troubling videos and photographs, that the Cleveland VA has spent at least $3.4 million in taxpayer funds from the VA and NIH since 2016 to purchase dozens of cats, perform invasive surgeries on them, damage their spinal cords, and ultimately kill them for tests related to incontinence and constipation,” the lawmakers wrote in an Aug. 11 letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Records show that some of these cats exhibited distress, seizures, bloody urine, and depression, and at least one was euthanized due to surgery complications.”

The White Coat Waste Project, which describes itself as “liberty-lovers and animal-lovers” who advocate against government spending on animal experimentation, obtained photos and videos of the operations. The lawmakers’ letter referred to researchers severing cats’ spinal cords and implanting electrodes into their brains before killing them. One such project in Louisville, Ky. purportedly involved the killing of 80 cats.

“The cat research in Cleveland is directed at reversing complications experienced by veterans who have sustained life-threatening spinal cord injuries,” a VA spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “Attempts to ban VA animal research are rooted in emotion — not science.”

The bipartisan group of House members requested a list of all active cat experiments, including a description of how each would directly relate to a combat injury or illness. They also asked to know how many projects are planned for the future and whether the department has studied alternative means of experimentation.