Ace of Spades Pet Thread, July 19

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

Do you agree with these assessments?

This only happens to you once. pic.twitter.com/0BoBFGJLCM

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) July 12, 2025

Would you do this?

The variety of birds that share this table
pic.twitter.com/j2xnRBUmgb

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) July 15, 2025

In case you haven't learned that we have lost Ciampino:

Scampydog, July 8: Late ONT addition.

Thank you Joyenz for keeping us all informed. Your dad was an amazing part of this place. Godspeed to you, your family, and Ciampino. We will miss his news, space/launch updates, chemistry talk, kitties, Africa memories, history lessons, warmth, and the wit he shared with us here at AoSHQ. He was a titan.

Here at the Pet Thread, we especially appreciated his care for kitties, especially the feral ones. Joyenz wrote in the comments last week that she appreciated this photo from Eris, which was posted late:

Feral Cuties:

A feral cat and her three kittens (two tuxedos and a grey tabby) have taken up residence beneath my back porch and often join me in lolling in the sun.

And yes, I know my porch desperately needs sanding and repainting.  Soon!

Eris

We hope that Joyenz will continue to stay in touch here at the Pet Thread.

Hello there!,

My boy Koda recently decided that he loves jumping off the dock in the Adirondacks this weekend. At first, he hesitated, but now he flies off! I think he needs a cape!.

JMM

What a photo!

From yesterday:

Hi KT,

We are putting our beloved Gigi down today.  She was our beautiful, shy and highly complicated baby girl. She is one month shy of nine but in our family, she is the youngest girl with two older cat sisters.  In April they thought she had pancreatitis but nothing they suggested worked and we went to the specialist who declared that she had protein losing enteropathy caused by inflammatory bowel disease.  We tried all the things and for a while it helped but she was never back to normal and was losing weight the whole time.  She lost over 20 pounds.  If any one of the horde has a dog diagnosed with this my heart goes out to you.  It is a gut-wrenching disease as you don't know what they react to, and you are guessing and trying your best, but nothing made her better.  When we took her in on Tuesday, they found fluid in her abdomen and chest cavity and possibly a mass.  We got to spoil her these last two days, giving her all the food and treats that she couldn't have while on her restrictive diet.   But now she doesn't even want the best and most amazing treats, so it is time.  We will miss her so very much, but no one will miss her more than her brother Littleman, for she was his whole world.  

WeeKreekFarmGirl

So devastating to learn that you have lost sweet Gigi. Give some extra love to Littleman for us.

This is Mikey. He was named after Mike the tiger, the LSU mascot. When he was a kitten, he was white as snow, but he grew up to be a rather large tabby. His mother was a full-blooded Siamese, though you'd never know to look at him.
About 12 years ago, he developed a serious blockage of the urinary tract, which could only be corrected by surgery. The cost of the surgery was $2000, which I could not afford. He was in great pain, and I thought about having him put to sleep, but in the end I couldn't go through with it. I borrowed the money, and the operation was a success. My brother-in-law joked that for $2000 I could have bought 1000 cats for a dollar apiece.

After a long and happy life, Mikey finally started showing the signs of age. This time there was nothing the vet could do. He spend most of his last few days sitting on my arm and purring while I read or watched TV. He crossed the rainbow bridge last night around midnight, and is buried in my front yard, near his frienemy Tipsy, who proceeded him last year.

Toad-0

Mikey was certainly loved. Thanks for sharing his story. He has such a lovely face.

Chicks B, C and D are doing well. Chick A went to see the vet last Friday, and indeed has Splay Legs. This post will focus on him.

Dr. S binded his legs with surgical tape and a small piece of pool noodle for separation. He now has his legs under him, but has to be immobilized. He is currently in a smallish box with pool noodles and kleenex packed in to keep him still. The box is placed in the brooder and he gets taken out multiple times a day for feeding, cleaning and 'therapy'. I have a follow up appointment with Dr. S on 7/23 where he will remove the bindings and access the progress.

Today's pictures are of Chick A actually standing in the feeding tray, a closer picture of the bindings and him in his box. Notice that his feathers are starting to come in.

We will not be posting next week as things will be status quo.

Regards,
David

The details of the treatment for splay leg are really interesting. Chick A is getting bigger, too.

Coming next week: Marmot photo Do you think the marmot should be a PetMoron or PetMoron Adjacent?

A doe with twins and a buck laying down. They usually don’t get close with other deer when they have fawns. The second picture is just the close up.

NorCal Sierra Foothills Lurker

Sweet.

Hello, KT!  Glad to see you are back and doing well.

Attached is a pic of a Moron-adjacent animal, a good-sized wolf snail Miss Linda spotted in her outdoor potted plant after a rainstorm in May.  According to our research, he's a carnivorous snail that feeds only on other snails.  He has three pairs of antennae, one of which is mustache-like, as well as the regular ones that look like cute ears.  He was not shy at all, crawled around on her arms, and didn't retreat into his shell.  (Being a predator like that, I'd guess, he does have quite the nerve.)

He visited for several hours until she returned him to his natural outdoor life.  No doubt he will have a fantastic story to tell the other wolf snails down at the snail pub.  "Aliens are real, guys!  This giant alien creature picked me up . . ."

Wolfus Aurelius

My second- favorite type of snail.

Thank you for sharing your pets with us.

If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:

petmorons at protonmail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Until next Saturday, have a great week!

If you start feeling nostalgic, here a link to last week's Pet Thread, the Ace of Spades Pet Thread July 12.

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

We were saddened to learn that JTB and Mrs. JTB had lost Precious.