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By Franny Syufy, About.com

During kitten season, the ongoing cat overpopulation problems become increasingly severe. Hundreds of thousands of kittens end up in shelters, which are already overcrowded. Many of the kittens find homes, at the expense of older cats who have been waiting in vain, but in "kill shelters," more of these kittens are either euthanized, or older cats are sacrificed to make room for the "more adoptable" kittens.

Read these reasons why to consider adopting an older cat in this illustrated article, and why you should spay and neuter your cats. Please keep in mind while reading these pages that although the pictured cats have all been rescued from the streets and have found happy forever homes, that there are still hundreds and thousands of their counterparts languishing in shelters.