(Spencer)--The City of Spencer has issued a news release in response to a social media post that contained inaccuracies and mischaracterizes the city’s policies on cats and lost pets.

The release says the City of Spencer does not operate, and is not proposing, a "Trap-and-Kill" policy. To correct the false narrative that the city disposes of scared or unowned cats, city officials are releasing official impound fugures covering the last three and a half years.

During this period, 386 cats came through the city’s impound system. 80-percent of those cats were successfully transferred to People for Pets for adoption, 7-percent were successfully claimed by their owners and 7 percent were identified as feral. The city worked directly with People for Pets to have these cats spayed/neutered and safely released back into the community. Six percent of the cats were humanely euthanized strictly for medically necessary reasons—specifically traumatic injuries, severe untreatable illnesses, or severe respiratory distress that did not respond to veterinary treatment.

Officials say none of the cats were euthanized for being "wild," scared, or simply unowned. Spencer currently boasts a 94% live-release rate for impounded cats, a standard that reflects a highly humane and modernized approach to animal control.