Ace of Spades Pet Thread, April 11

Courtesy Jeannie Harris

Culture and cats

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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.

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Culture and dogs

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Do you agree?

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Easier to set up than a swimming pool.

The moment this pup dove straight in without thinking twice.
It’s the purest expression of happiness a dog can show. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/hgeM0DQNwu
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) April 10, 2026

Meet The PetMorons

This is Cali kitty trying to be intimidating.
- fd

I am almost petrified. The young grasshopper below (from New Mexico, I think) had better watch out.

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Lazy Sunday afternoon for my Easter BunBun.
Miley

A wonderful Easter photo showing some kitty personality. Thanks.

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Is there a 'Pets in the Garden' thread?

Most of Sammy's fur is growing back now - the top of his head was a bloody mess.
Here he is hanging out by the clematis, one of his favorite places.
Miley

Remind me how Sammy's head got bloody.

Well, I joked that it looked like he was diving into badger holes. A nasty cat fight, I assume. Ears, above the eyes and top of his head. The end of his glorious 13" tail is still a bit ratty looking. He's been coming around often, appearing out of the darkness to jump onto the table here on the back porch. Sometimes sleeps in one of the porch chairs at night. BunBun has sort of accepted him. Mostly.

Cats are not always predictable, are they? Sammy looks beautiful now. The clematis looks like it is going to be lovely, too.

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PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde

These are visiting orcas in Elliot Bay enjoying the rain on Wednesday afternoon.
It is such a privilege to see them.
nurse ratched

A thrilling sight!

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Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.

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!

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If you start feeling nostalgic, here a link to last week's Pet Thread, the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, April 4

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

Posted by: K.T. at 03:34 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Woof

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little at April 11, 2026 03:38 PM (Kt19C)

2 Woof
Posted by: Commissar of plenty

Easy for you to say.

Posted by: one of the horde's cats at April 11, 2026 03:41 PM (VHUov)

3 Quite some colorful grasshopper there!

Thanks for the kitties. I enjoy seeing them!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at April 11, 2026 03:45 PM (PFs9e)

4 Happy Caturday everyone

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 03:50 PM (Ia/+0)

5 The dog in the ballpit looks like he's having the time of his life!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at April 11, 2026 03:51 PM (ESVrU)

6 >>> The clematis looks like it is going to be lovely, too.

It's an orgy of blooms.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:53 PM (w6EFb)

7 At what point in the pestilence process does a grasshopper become a locust?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 11, 2026 03:54 PM (Gx2ed)

8 Meow.....

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at April 11, 2026 03:54 PM (sAmhv)

9 Back yard is still muddy. Opened the door for Daisy the Oklahoma Malinois to go out this morning. She looked, she sniffed, then she wheeled around and went back to bed. She was just at the groomer's, so maybe she didn't want to get mussed up.

Ony the grand old lady kitty, went out, though, and wandered around the yard for quite a bit. She's not as heavy as Daisy, though, so less inclined to get muddy.

Posted by: mindful webworker - bark bark meow at April 11, 2026 03:54 PM (C2uPD)

10 The puppy in the ball pit is hilarious!

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:55 PM (w6EFb)

11 Pompeii had a lot of cats. Ephesus too.

No cats were seen in Volubilis, Morocco.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 11, 2026 03:55 PM (Gx2ed)

12 Oh, the cats are so cute...says the dog person.

Here's a YT 11 second video of my 14 year old dog Ralphy one week after falling out of bed. As ypu can see, full of life.

His cat friend Snowflake is by the patio door ready to come back in. They were sleeping together on my bed as I was watching a horror movie. She snuggles up to him.

https://tinyurl.com/ms2pnp59

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 03:55 PM (Sco7b)

13 My sister visited Israel back in 2019. It was a church trip. She has LOTS of pictures of ancient and holy sites. The majority of them have a cat hanging around, somewhere. Lots of cats over there.

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at April 11, 2026 03:59 PM (sAmhv)

14 Nice video of your adorable dog Ralphie, Stateless. Thanks for sending it in.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at April 11, 2026 03:59 PM (Nx5jP)

15 Hey guys,

Here's the update on our cats

https://tinyurl.com/dg65258

A coworker of my sister has four newborn kittens he is trying to find homes for when they are ready. All beautiful girls. He asked if we wanted one because apparently my sister is known as the crazy cat lady at work.

I think I would only take one if he couldn't find a home for it and he was going to take it to our county shelter. They're good people there and do try to get animals adopted even sending them to other cities, but they are not a no-kill shelter. They are already full of beautiful adult rescues.

We have a lot of our own cats we've rescued from our yard and the Chili's parking lot or Marty who was thrown from a car in the Walmart parking lot as a kitten. It's expensive to feed them all and we don't get as many donations anymore. I don't think we can handle anymore unless dire circumstances.

Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 04:00 PM (2F0/Y)

16 At what point in the pestilence process does a grasshopper become a locust?
Posted by: Cicero

Right around chapter 10 in Exodus.

Posted by: mikeski at April 11, 2026 04:01 PM (VHUov)

17 All the kitties are adorable!

The dog in the ballpit looks like he's having the time of his life!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at April 11, 2026 03:51 PM (ESVrU)

Aldi's was selling a toddlers ballpit like that a few weeks ago. So many pet parents in the Aldi's FB group bought it for their ogs, cats and rabbits. It was a huge hit with the pets.

Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 04:03 PM (2F0/Y)

18 That's not a grasshopper; it's a land mantis shrimp.

Posted by: wcgreen at April 11, 2026 04:05 PM (u5BVN)

19 Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 03:55 PM (Sco7b)

What a cute pup!

Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 04:07 PM (2F0/Y)

20 So question:

Reef just did a thing that I had seen Ajax do from time to time. Normally their appetites are pretty much on rails. But every now and then, they will not want to eat much for about 24 hours. Then they will take a big poop and be ravenous.

Is this like colic? They are clearing a blockage before putting more pressure behind it?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 11, 2026 04:08 PM (bss/y)

21 What a cute pup!
Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 04:07 PM (2F0/Y)

Thank you.

Bless you for helping the cats.They aren't strays but my friends outdoor cats stay with me when it's really cold or they are away for extended vacations.

Beautiful animals.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 04:10 PM (Sco7b)

22 The puppy in the ball pit is hilarious!
Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 03:55 PM (w6EFb)

Until puppy decides to play mosh pit at 0230.

Posted by: AZ Hi Desert (Gringo fuertemente armado-Tempus belli) at April 11, 2026 04:10 PM (4g8dN)

23 Love Ralphy! He looks full of life.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at April 11, 2026 04:10 PM (w6EFb)

24 No cats were seen in Volubilis, Morocco.

Check the menu

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little at April 11, 2026 04:15 PM (Kt19C)

25 We be Hope's that Vance guy looks Presdent Obana with himself two talks to the Iran guys. They knows Vance is bee dummer tens durt and Presdent Obana ca nots bee tricked.

Posted by: Mary Clogginstein from Brattleboro, Vt at April 11, 2026 04:20 PM (5sL+U)

26 At what point in the pestilence process does a grasshopper become a locust?
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 11, 2026

***
When he goes to get millions of his closest friends!

Afternoon, Pet Folken. I'm here with big black Stirling on the living room floor, and Dagny, well, she goes her own way and will appear when she's ready.

The definition of "kitten" is spot on. Maybe not always a "homicidal" muffin, but "pesticidal" or . . . No, "homicidal" is pretty darn close.

I have never seen a grasshopper colored like that. It's as if he were painted by a Navaho artist for sale to a tourist.

And I have to wonder if my cats would like a ball pit like that. . . .

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 11, 2026 04:21 PM (wzUl9)

27 We’re in Europe. Puppy/house sitter is with our 4 month old pup. She wondered why we increased her salary. After 4 days she understands. The lightbulb went off when she found a puppy tooth on the floor, she removed mulch from the pup’s mouth, cleaned up vomit compliments of the mulch eating and has been awakened every morning well before the hour she wanted. Life comes at you fast in our household.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at April 11, 2026 04:21 PM (YYEJo)

28 Our shih tzu dives into pillows with abandon...

Then falls asleep.

Posted by: man at April 11, 2026 04:24 PM (XuXeR)

29 Patsy gallops through the house. She goes from the living room, into the converted garage and back. Makes mornings entertaining.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at April 11, 2026 04:26 PM (gQ15S)

30 Man makes friend with wild robin. Video:

https://tinyurl.com/55j4atk5

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at April 11, 2026 04:30 PM (Nx5jP)

31 Thank you Miley!

I mentioned a while back that Snowflake has some real tangles in her long hair. It is hair. She rests on my lap sometimes when I'm watching tv.

I have managed to cut some of the smaller ones out with scissors. She has some bigger ones that I'm slowly working at.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 04:34 PM (Sco7b)

32 Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 04:10 PM (Sco7b)

Aww, that's nice of you to keep them warm.

Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 04:34 PM (2F0/Y)

33 Thank you KT! And I love Nurse's Orcas.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at April 11, 2026 04:35 PM (kj/CD)

34 The definition of "kitten" is spot on. Maybe not always a "homicidal" muffin, but "pesticidal" or . . . No, "homicidal" is pretty darn close.

I have never seen a grasshopper colored like that. It's as if he were painted by a Navaho artist for sale to a tourist.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

The judges would also have accepted "omnicidal muffin."

A quick search says that's a "rainbow grasshopper," Dactylotum bicolor. Looks like more than two colors to me, though.

Posted by: mikeski at April 11, 2026 04:37 PM (VHUov)

35 And I have to wonder if my cats would like a ball pit like that. . . .

They would be indifferent at first. Then, at 0300, the Magic Kittuh Hour, they'd loudly play in it. It will sound like gladiators fighting in an arena.

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at April 11, 2026 04:39 PM (sAmhv)

36 Happy Caturday, everyone.

Posted by: nurse ratched at April 11, 2026 04:39 PM (A5RD0)

37 They would be indifferent at first. Then, at 0300, the Magic Kittuh Hour, they'd loudly play in it. It will sound like gladiators fighting in an arena.
Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at April 11, 2026

***
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 11, 2026 04:46 PM (wzUl9)

38 Stateless, Ralphy doesn't look like he's 14 years old. Does he know he is? If not, don't tell him.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at April 11, 2026 04:48 PM (nz1sK)

39 . It will sound like gladiators fighting in an arena.

Do you like gladiator movies?

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little at April 11, 2026 04:48 PM (Kt19C)

40 Daughters saw a cat jump out of the back of a pickup in a parking lot last weekend. They flagged down the owner, but he said it wasn't his cat.

They did manage to eventually lure the little kitty to safety with some wet food. It's tail was clearly broken completely through about 3-4 vertebrae from the spine, so it was scheduled for an amputation on Thursday.

Vet was examining the tail, and noticed that the tip was still quite warm. Prognosis: kitty gets to keep her tail, but it will forever be floppy.

They have already found a forever home for the kitty and she is putting on weight!

Kitty got rescued, but is NOT living at MY house ... best possible outcome. (We currently have five rescues in the house.)

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at April 11, 2026 04:48 PM (HlyYF)

41 5 The dog in the ballpit looks like he's having the time of his life!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at April 11, 2026 03:51 PM

I assume he was working on string theory, and periodically shouting "Bazinga!"

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at April 11, 2026 04:50 PM (HlyYF)

42 Coyotes were howling on the hill last night, so Chloe did not get to go out. She was not pleased but even a cat can't handle a coyote attack.

Posted by: Beverly at April 11, 2026 05:01 PM (reMys)

43 38 Stateless, Ralphy doesn't look like he's 14 years old. Does he know he is? If not, don't tell him.
Posted by: TecumsehTea at April 11, 2026 04:48 PM (nz1sK)

Thanks. I'll let him know.

And again, congratulations to your husband. I was so happy for both of you.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog. Old, but full of life. at April 11, 2026 05:02 PM (Sco7b)

44 Posted by: Pillage Idiot at April 11, 2026 04:48 PM (HlyYF)

So glad to hear it. Several years ago, mom and I went to the church down the street to vote. Outside was a black cat with his tail at the halfway point completely bent. Mom went back to the house for a carrier and we took him to the vet. Tail had to be amputated. Named him Felix and we took him home.

Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 05:05 PM (2F0/Y)

45 So how DID Sammy's head get all bloodied?

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at April 11, 2026 05:05 PM (O7YUW)

46 Thank you, Stateless. He is really excited about the new job.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at April 11, 2026 05:10 PM (nz1sK)

47 > 16 At what point in the pestilence process does a grasshopper become a locust?
Posted by: Cicero

It is believed that this occurs when an abundance of vegetation causes a population explosion (usually after a period of drought). When the population density reaches a certain point, and the local food supply starts to run out, something gets switched on in their tiny grasshopper brains that causes them to band together into a mobile swarm.

One of the two species of North American locusts is extinct and the other is now very rare, the only locusts for which that is true. One theory is that plowing destroyed the eggs, preventing the population from reaching swarming levels.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at April 11, 2026 05:12 PM (IG3/x)

48 insert video of an orca stealing a sailboat

Posted by: Admiral Winchester at April 11, 2026 05:16 PM (jrgJz)

49 Hi friends! Yay, pets! We went to the nature preserve today, it started out perfect but got pretty warm towards the end. We put the top down in my car on the way home, Saijo loves that, and we got a pup cup. He is now crashed on the bed with a kitty. The other kitty is in Saijo’s crate. I keep thinking I can take it down, Saijo no longer needs it, but everyone rotates in and out of it to sleep, so I guess it stays.

Posted by: Piper at April 11, 2026 05:17 PM (Wmg4n)

50 What is it about cats that they like to get in your way when you are frustrated in a task?

I suppose they are trying to be supportive, but they just add to the frustration when they are in your way....

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at April 11, 2026 05:22 PM (gnNyN)

51 Outside was a black cat with his tail at the halfway point completely bent. Mom went back to the house for a carrier and we took him to the vet. Tail had to be amputated. Named him Felix and we took him home.

Posted by: Joyenz at April 11, 2026 05:05 PM

Our neighbors have a cat that suffered the same fate. My youngest daughter cat sits for them when they go out of town. So she is used to a cat with just a "nub".

That is why she was so surprised when the vet said this kitty could keep her tail!

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at April 11, 2026 05:22 PM (HlyYF)

52 Before we get a Nood, let me say that Cali Kitty and Sammy are both very good-looking. I'm partial to Sammy, of course, as my Stirling looks a lot like him -- but Cali has pretty markings.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 11, 2026 05:28 PM (wzUl9)

53 Cat

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 11, 2026 05:29 PM (El6/E)

54 Both Stirling and Dagny are up, awake, and present. Dinner is only half an hour away, so that explains the situation.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 11, 2026 05:30 PM (wzUl9)

55 HOBBIESTS NOOD

Posted by: Skip at April 11, 2026 05:31 PM (Ia/+0)

56 Noodus hobbyana

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 11, 2026 05:31 PM (wzUl9)

57 I think that grasshopper was in the Beatle movie Yellow Submarine.

Posted by: Eromero at April 11, 2026 06:32 PM (LHPAg)

58 I spent a lot of time visiting Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc. marveling at the ancient architecture and taking photos of kitties. Same in Turkey, although there everyone takes care of the street cats, feeds them, they have kitty houses, and they come up to you for some loving.

Posted by: Delilah at April 11, 2026 07:12 PM (n/m5m)

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