Animal shelter gives kitten to terminally ill child

Ryan Mott got his pick of the litter.

The eight-year-old was wheeled into the Stafford County Animal Shelter at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and picked out his very own kitten.

“Do we get to take it home?” Ryan asked his mother, Michelle.

Ryan suffers from a rare, terminal form of brain cancer. He is undergoing chemotherapy at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, and has love and support from his mom, dad, and four siblings.

But there was one thing missing in his life.

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“I want something to cuddle,” said Ryan.

The shelter staff agreed to pay the adoption and spay fees so the family could take home the cat for free.

As soon as Ryan arrived, animal shelter director Capt. Mike Null, of the Stafford sheriff’s office, placed a sheriff’s cap on his head, pinned a badge on his lapel, and handed him a challenge coin.

“I want you to hold on to this and every time you see a deputy out there, show it to them and challenge them,” Null told Ryan.

Then, Ryan’s wheelchair was pushed up to a cage where several rescue kittens were waiting. His precious kitten, a female black tortoiseshell.

“I’m going name her Sandy,” said Ryan. “I also have a dog named Sammy.”

Food, a scratch post, toys, a litter box, litter, and balloons were all arranged on a table for the Mott family, who lives in Stafford County. These, too, were gifts for them.

“This is just so amazing,” said Michelle, Ryan’s mother. “He really just wants a cat he can hold,” said Michelle.

Michelle and her husband Lynn were surrounded by a sea of strangers who came to the shelter on Saturday to see Ryan pick out his cat. He was diagnosed with cancer six months ago.

Before coming to the shelter and being made ready for adoption, the kittens spend at least eight weeks at a foster home. The woman who cared for asked to remain anonymous and likened raising the kittens to care for a newborn baby.

“You have to feed them, and then you have to burp them,” she said. “By the time you’ve taken care of five three hours have gone by. It’s a full-time job.”

When asked why she fosters kittens, she replied, “for the same reason you came here today — to see a child smile.”

The family set up a “YouCaring” donation page that includes more information on Ryan’s cancer, and to help offset $80,000 in past medical bills incurred during his treatment.