Holiday deals are not just at local big box stores and small businesses.

SPCA Tampa Bay is bringing back its free adult cat adoption special this holiday season. The only cost is a $10 microchip fee.

There also is a BOGO speical on kittens for the regular $45 fee. That's right: Buy one kitten and get the second one free.

The holiday sale was prompted by a serious problem at the shelter. It is overcrowded, with more than 150 homeless cats, as people struggling in the economy have given up their pets. There also are many more kittens than usual for December in need of homes.

The overcrowding has prompted the SPCA to ask pet owners who need to give up their cats to wait until the shelter is able to find permanent homes for the ones in its care.

Adoption value includes vaccinations (including rabies), spaying or neutering, 30-day free pet insurance, and a free Cat Talk Class, a crash course in frisky feline behavior. Adoption specials good through 2011. Preview adoptables online at www.SPCATampaBay.org