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Spring has sprung and so, too, has kitten season.

This kitten season, known as the warm months when cats breed and give birth, is the first since a new admissions wing at the Richmond SPCA opened and enabled the shelter to accept more felines, said Robin Starr, CEO of the Richmond SPCA.

Since mid-March, the shelter has taken in 150 kittens — nearly twice the number from the same period last year, Starr said. The new Wilma’s Admissions Wing, which was completed late last year, has created space for the shelter to care for more animals from across the state.

“We have now got more space and, more specifically, designed and designated space for all kinds of new arrivals,” Starr said.

This year, the Richmond SPCA has taken in kittens from 20 localities including the city of Chesapeake and Shenandoah and Buckingham counties.

Cats that are not spayed or neutered prompt the flood of kittens to shelters, according to the Humane Society. Kitten season will vary depending on the part of the country — the season stretches the entire year in warm states such as Florida, Starr said, while the window is far smaller in the north.