Ace of Spades Pet Thread, July 4

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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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Worried about the safety of your pets around fireworks? We have already had two nights of fireworks in the neighborhood and our remaining little dog seems to be okay as long as he is indoors. Not like some of our other dogs, the biggest of whom hid in the bathtub in the only room in the house without a window.

Any tips for helping our furry or feathered friends?

Here's another tip:

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Meet The PetMorons

We are missing photos for some PetMorons for which we have descriptions! Time to get some pets to pose! If I missed any, let me know.

On the home front, we had a tiny kitty show up and shoulder its way among the older kittens who were presented by their mama not long ago. I need to take photos of them, too!

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PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde

A bit late for today's garden thread, but this afternoon my wife took a few photos of a robin in our driveway killing and eating a DeKay's brown snake! They're pretty small, so I guess it's not that different from a big earthworm?

Intrepid Liaison/Admiral Ackbar, June 20

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Amazing photos!

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Intrepid Liaison/Admiral Ackbar, July 3, from Hawaii

I have not managed to acquire many quality photos of the islands diverse fauna yet, and some of my best involve, of all things, feral chickens, which freely roam the island, including the streets of Honolulu.

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Hawaii

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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, June 27

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. Been considering a pet spider since last week?

Some are not as colorful as last week's specimens but can be distinctive.

The unreal appearance of a huntsman spider molting pic.twitter.com/ftygktTUHn
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) June 28, 2026

And others remind us that the world is diverse.

This dead leaf that isn’t quite a leaf.

This is leaf-mimicking spider (Eriovixia gryffindori), discovered in 2015.pic.twitter.com/9Ue8Q7GdDn
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 2, 2026

Posted by: K.T. at 03:29 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Here kitty kitties!

Posted by: Lady Calling Kitties at July 04, 2026 03:33 PM (3z4Sn)

2 Meow

Posted by: nurse ratched. at July 04, 2026 03:34 PM (yEz+x)

3 Kit-TAY.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at July 04, 2026 03:34 PM (Kt19C)

4 Happy Caturday everyone
Watching on ABC many communities have pet parades, bring you pet out⁸

Posted by: Skip at July 04, 2026 03:35 PM (qEb4U)

5 Lots of flags flying along the beach condos. Time to turn on The baseball game and take a walk!

Let’s go Mariners!

Posted by: nurse ratched. at July 04, 2026 03:35 PM (yEz+x)

6 No dogs? No boobs? What is this the art thread?

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at July 04, 2026 03:41 PM (Kt19C)

7
Bath for Diana today. In a month, she's set to reappear on the show scene. So instead of a maintenance bath, she got a show bath; the difference is the shampoos and conditioner used.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 04, 2026 03:41 PM (O0L8i)

8 Afternoon, pet folken!

That leaf-mimicking spider is amazing. Not least because they named it for one of the houses of Hogwarts!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 03:48 PM (wzUl9)

9 Meow...

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at July 04, 2026 03:48 PM (sAmhv)

10 Build it and they will come……

Posted by: Eromero at July 04, 2026 03:53 PM (bEwGx)

11 Fireworks by you? We heard a few go off last night. Fortunately we'd already given Stirling, who is a big 'fraidy-cat about such things, some calming treats. They're pretty much just melatonin, not anything Rx or strong like that. One treat per pound of body weight. (He takes fourteen.)

We gave Dagny eight or nine, as she is much smaller. She also is less disturbed by noises or even by the vacuum cleaner. Both seemed pretty smoothed out; Stirling clambered into my lap, and Dagny curled up atop the couch behind my head. I guess we'll do it again tonight.

The funny thing: Stirling was a super-confident kitten, all the way from June '21, when I adopted him, to New Year's Eve that year. July 4 didn't bother him -- but suddenly the rattle of NYE fireworks sent him scurrying under the bed.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 03:56 PM (wzUl9)

12 I have noticed something odd with Patsy. With most cats, when they are kneading or "making biscuits", they just move their front feet. Not Patsy. She also moves her back leg on the opposite side. And she likes to nip you. She has adjusted to being an inside cat and is pretty good most days.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 04, 2026 03:59 PM (bkuEU)

13 Feral chickens? Is there any other kind? I think if you asked any Rooster out there if they counsider themselves "domesticated" they'd tilt their heads, adjust their eyepatch, maybe even fiddle with the toothpick hanging out of their beaks while sizing you up.

That's your cue to run....run fast, hard, and don't look back.

Posted by: Orson at July 04, 2026 04:01 PM (dIske)

14 Good afternoon all,

I hope everyone is having a great Independence Day!

Small update on our cats.

https://tinyurl.com/dg65258

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

15 I have noticed something odd with Patsy. With most cats, when they are kneading or "making biscuits", they just move their front feet. Not Patsy. She also moves her back leg on the opposite side. And she likes to nip you. She has adjusted to being an inside cat and is pretty good most days.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at July 04, 2026

***
Stirling has recently gotten the idea that it would be fun to nip my arm after he finishes milk-treading it, and before he leaves my lap. I've been careful not to give him the opportunity. If he starts to, I scruff him like his mother and give him a stern, loud "NO!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:07 PM (wzUl9)

16 No fireworks here. It doesn't get dark, so we save them for New Years. But plenty of folks shooting, so there's that. Some of those folks could be us.

Posted by: tcn in AK at July 04, 2026 04:12 PM (bl07w)

17 Some isolated fireworks are going off here, and Stirling is sitting, fairly relaxed, on the living room carpet. Maybe he's outgrowing this kitten fear of sharp noises that are nowhere near him and in fact are outside his safe territory.

The late Marie-Antoinette once feared the vacuum cleaner. A few years went by, and she no longer scurried away, but sat atop the dinette table and watched -- much as little Dagny does now. Either Marie concluded her humans would never let the growling roaring thing hurt her, or her hearing was falling off and she no longer was disturbed by the higher frequencies. Maybe both?

Big black Wolf dashed to hide in the bathroom the moment he saw me take out the machine. He'd realized I brought it into the bathroom, if necessary, last of the rooms. Stirling has concluded the same.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:13 PM (wzUl9)

18 Just finished trimming the pooch's claws with the dremmel-like trimmer contraption off Amazon. Distracted him with peanut butter. The dremmel works much quicker, but makes too much noise for him to abide.

The cat looked on in bemusement.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at July 04, 2026 04:14 PM (XvL8K)

19 Yay, cats!

Posted by: Howard Philips Lovecraft at July 04, 2026 04:15 PM (gKWVE)

20 We are off to Kasilof to go fishing and the dogs are going on vacation to the pet resort. I expect they prefer that, even though I'm sure they'd love to roll in fish guts and chase seagulls. If we took them with, there would be a whole lot of dog watching and very little fishing.

Posted by: tcn in AK at July 04, 2026 04:15 PM (bl07w)

21 "8 Afternoon, pet folken!

That leaf-mimicking spider is amazing. Not least because they named it for one of the houses of Hogwarts!"
- - - -

Wow! I didn't notice! Adds a new dimension to the video when the guy picks the spider up.

Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026 04:16 PM (rdeQO)

22 Apparently, Mrs. JTB and I are easy to train.

We lost Precious the Bichon a year ago this week to a brain tumor. We only had her for two years, adopted her from the county rescue when she was 14. To this day we still expect her to be here. Have to stop from throwing popcorn on the floor for her treat. Think we have to get home from errands quickly to take her for a walk. Still kind of shuffle around the house so we don't step on her paw.

It's not sadness we feel since we made her last years as pleasant as possible. But we still have frequent "Oh yeah. We don't have to do that" moments.

Posted by: JTB at July 04, 2026 04:16 PM (yTvNw)

23 Spider on the ceiling:

https://youtu.be/BBiczdCEBMM?si=2hqcOzVOG5P0IRkx

This one never fails to make me laugh.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at July 04, 2026 04:19 PM (CHHv1)

24 That leaf-mimicking spider is amazing. Not least because they named it for one of the houses of Hogwarts!"
- - - -

Wow! I didn't notice! Adds a new dimension to the video when the guy picks the spider up.
Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026

***
The spelling, with a "y" instead of an "i," is distinctive.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:20 PM (wzUl9)

25 Comment on the Huntsman spider molting thread: "If I see this happening in my room, I am handing over the house keys to him and moving to a new country"

Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026 04:23 PM (rdeQO)

26 It's not sadness we feel since we made her last years as pleasant as possible. But we still have frequent "Oh yeah. We don't have to do that" moments.
Posted by: JTB at July 04, 2026

***
It was strange indeed from March of '21 until Stirling's arrival in June, after Chekov the Ailing Codger Cat passed. Not only did I miss him and his "brother" Wolf, but it was odd not having to buy cat litter and police the box. I'd always had at least one cat and sometimes two in my life since 1983.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:24 PM (wzUl9)

27 I posted our official unofficial mascot with patriotic regalia on x, but failed to send it in. Shame on me, I am sorry.

Posted by: Piper at July 04, 2026 04:26 PM (pZEOD)

28 Comment on the Huntsman spider molting thread: "If I see this happening in my room, I am handing over the house keys to him and moving to a new country"
Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026

***
My mother always advised me not to kill spiders in the house. "They kill other things you want around even less."

I expect she was not talking about black widows or brown recluse spiders, though. In western Canada, where she lived until age twelve, I don't know if they had those. Those species probably existed in Florida where she lived later, though.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:28 PM (wzUl9)

29 According to Wiki, neither the black widow nor the brown recluse spider lives in Canada. The black widow is found in FL, but the recluse is not.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:36 PM (wzUl9)

30 Our cats were never really affected by loud fireworks. Mischa would get a tad nervous, but would simply find her spot under our bed and go to sleep.

They were far more terrified of the hailstorms that pummeled us all too often.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Trumpy can do magic at July 04, 2026 04:37 PM (0aYVJ)

31 I got my two kittehs as 8 week old kittens 8 years ago and had them posted to the pet thread shortly after. Time flies at ludicrous speed.

I'll send that photo and a current photo for next week's pet thread.

Posted by: polynikes at July 04, 2026 04:38 PM (/WQyy)

32 Ten years ago today we rescued tiny MadisonTheKitten from the middle of a busy intersection. She fit in my hand and both her back legs were broken. Today she’s MadisonTheCat and completey normal (for a cat), weighs 13 pounds, a strong black kat.

Posted by: Eromero at July 04, 2026 04:39 PM (LHPAg)

33 There seems to be a nasty trend I'm seeing around here of animals being dumped. Recently a young dog, not much more than a pup, was rescued from a dumpster. Earlier this year, three kittens were rescued from *atop the Miss. River Bridge*! They must have been dumped out of a car (there is no pedestrian walkway or bike lane on that bridge) and had gone to hide under a grating, where bridge workers found them and fished them out.

How much of a slime mold must a person be to do that? The SPCA is not far away, wherever you are, and they don't charge you if you bring in a found animal. They do if you're surrendering an animal, but not if you've simply found it. Infuriating.

(cont.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:48 PM (wzUl9)

34 (cont.) I know the SPCA doesn't charge for found animals, because in the summer of '19, I found a skinny and clearly ill black cat in my complex. He was not feral; he came to me for food. I got him into a carrier with some trouble and brought him to the SPCA station. He was FIV positive, so it was a good thing I didn't try to bring him around my two. They couldn't save him, though they tried for a month. At least he had that time in a comfortable, safe environment with people to tend to him.

They asked me to name him. "Skinny Puss" wouldn't help him get adopted. I chose "Paladin": He was a knight without armor in a savage land.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:50 PM (wzUl9)

35 28: My mother always advised me not to kill spiders in the house. "They kill other things you want around even less."

I expect she was not talking about black widows or brown recluse spiders, though. In western Canada, where she lived until age twelve, I don't know if they had those. Those species probably existed in Florida where she lived later, though.

----

Well, Wolfus, Black Widows live in some South-western parts of Canada and maybe sometimes elsewhere in Canada, but I was not aware of brown recluse spiders growing up outside the South. My mother used to watch black widows make webs in the corners of a sleeping porch in Utah without worrying about them. But I was terrified of black widows growing up. They nested at the bottom corners of our basement stairs.

One of my friends had one crawl up her leg in gym class. Still remember it.

My cousin (my age) was scared of all spiders.

Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026 04:51 PM (rdeQO)

36 Well, Wolfus, Black Widows live in some South-western parts of Canada and maybe sometimes elsewhere in Canada, but I was not aware of brown recluse spiders growing up outside the South. My mother used to watch black widows make webs in the corners of a sleeping porch in Utah without worrying about them. But I was terrified of black widows growing up. They nested at the bottom corners of our basement stairs.

One of my friends had one crawl up her leg in gym class. Still remember it.

My cousin (my age) was scared of all spiders.
Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026

***
Until she was twelve, my mother lived in a small town in Saskatchewan. Saskatoon was "the big city" to them. So that was way out on the prairies. Black widows live out there?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:53 PM (wzUl9)

37 OT: Someone here needs to send a photo in to the Gun Thread.

Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026 04:54 PM (rdeQO)

38 Some of our neighbors and nearby neighborhoods have been setting mortars and other bangs off for a few days now, even after 11pm. Our cats have been freaking out.

Last night they almost sent all their food flying in a panic. You can just imagine 6+ cats all scattering in every direction.

Posted by: Joyenz at July 04, 2026 04:54 PM (2F0/Y)

39 I find it hard to believe there are feral chickens wandering around any where. I have my grandmother's recipe for dumplings and gravy that are the perfect complement.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at July 04, 2026 04:56 PM (fkjGs)

40 We're getting hit with a bad storm right now. Cats are scared.

Posted by: Joyenz at July 04, 2026 04:59 PM (2F0/Y)

41 Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 04:53 PM

I think black widows would be more likely to live closer to the U.S. border. They prefer warm, dry conditions.

Posted by: KT at July 04, 2026 05:03 PM (rdeQO)

42 That leaf-mimicking spider clearly didn't like being picked up. They cut the video as it was about to become the FO phase of FAFO.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at July 04, 2026 05:17 PM (cWLG3)

43 We're getting hit with a bad storm right now. Cats are scared.
Posted by: Joyenz at July 04, 2026

***
Storms generally have never bothered any of my cats. I guess I'm lucky.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 05:19 PM (wzUl9)

44 A few days ago had the carport door open as stormed rolled in. It was late at night with rain pouring and thunder popping. Isis and Pip were indoors, out of the weather. Isis sitting in the open door watching.

Then lightning struck close by and the thunder boomed at 11 in less than a second. Isis shot out the door like lightning to hide while Pip kept his face buried in the dry food.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 04, 2026 05:31 PM (sUDUf)

45 lol Anna!

Posted by: SMH at God's mercy at July 04, 2026 05:39 PM (D4LRG)

46 Noodus hobbyana

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 04, 2026 05:40 PM (wzUl9)

47 The "here kitty kitty" photo reminds me of a story about my oldest aunt. My mom and all of my aunts have whatever gene it is that makes them suckers for stray animals. My aunt at one time was feeding 30 feral cats until disease thinned the heard.

She and my uncle lived on a large, tree shaded property on a lake. One Christmas all of the family was gathered at my aunt's house. When it was time to feed the cats she filled 3 or 4 giant pans with cat chow and took them outside to the patio and called "kitty, kitty, kitty." Cats converged from all directions--running from the lake, dropping from the trees, racing down the hill. It was quite a sight!

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at July 04, 2026 05:40 PM (TrISa)

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