Spent A Good Portion Of Time Making Sure Others Feel Comfortable Being Alterhuman

Hi this is a positivity post regarding alterhuman diet dysphoria versus actual biology

(unless you already know these things)

To herbivore nonhumans who don't want to/can't do a vegan or vegetarian diet but feel dysphoric about being able to digest meat:

Herbivorous animals are not unable to digest meat.

Animal matter is actually easier for a body to process than plant matter, and herbivorous species need very complex digestive systems in order to support their lifestyles. This is why cows have four stomachs; why horses practically go into critical system failure if they get even a little bit sick. Animals that live mostly by grazing actually still do need nutrients that carnivores and omnivores get through their natural diets, which is why farming supply stores sell salt licks for animals. In the wild herbivores will quite often find ways to sneak some meat into their diets by eating bugs or small vertebrates, if you didn't already know about the fun fact of deer eating baby birds. "Obligate herbivore" meaning an animal that can ONLY physically digest plants is not a real ecological term the way "obligate carnivore" meaning animal that can ONLY physically digest meat is, though you might see it in other usages (i.e., referring to an animal that relies on a plant-based diet for all of its nutrients).

If a wild deer was given access to human society, they would probably not opt for veganism for connection with their true species; they would more likely appreciate having a way to get sodium so easily. This isn't to shame anyone who does choose a vegan/vegetarian diet for species euphoria reasons, but more to reassure folks who can't, you aren't less of an herbivore.

To carnivore nonhumans who feel dysphoric that their body can't digest raw meat like wild carnivores can:

It can!

The reason you don't want to be eating raw meat like a wolf or stoat or monitor lizard is because you will get sick or you will contract a parasite, which might sound like just a different reason to feel disconnected from your species, but here's the main two things:

1. The actuality is that wild wolves and stoats and monitor lizards DO get sick and contract parasites. This is often how wolves and stoats and monitor lizards die in the wild and why ones in captivity, being fed parasite-free meat and having illnesses treated, live longer. There are raw meats you can eat safely, you just have to know where they're sourced from and that they're guaranteed not to have risks! That's why sushi is a thing, and why people say you can technically eat raw cut (not ground) beef but not pork or chicken. Cooked meat is also often tastier and easier for the body to process (cit.: Grug et al. 780,000 BCE) so that's why humans have loved their medium-well steak since they came up with it. And 2. wild predators are "able to eat raw meat" mostly because they killed it, so it's fresh and hasn't been sitting around able to pick up bacteria, the way raw meat you get at a grocery store would have. This is why a lot of prey animals have a "play dead" defense mechanism: most predators do not want to eat something that's already dead, because it might get them sick.

If a wild owl was given access to human society, they would probably not desire only the rawest of meats for connection with their true species; they would more likely appreciate having access to food that had all the pathogens cleaned and/or scorched out of it.

getting into bed with a loud “hrrmph” and curling into a ball as we speak

made more then we expected haha..

oh, you're sad? *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you* *wraps my wings around you*

I am a cat in the "hostile fucked up creature with a mild bloodlust that only wants to be left alone but also kinda vaguely cat-shaped" way

no the hell they don't, tumblr

Normalize not sharing the specifics of your alterhuman identity. You DON’T need to share if your identity is voluntary or not. That doesn’t fucking matter. You are what you say you are. Full stop.

Do NOT reply to this saying that “copinglinkers will never understand what it’s like”. YOU don’t know what it’s like for them. Some of you assholes seem to think that ‘linkers are the same as kin-for-fun. They’re not.

‘Linkers aren’t appropriating your fucking terms. They just want to be seen as their fucking linktype, which is made difficult by the fact that voluntary identities aren’t taken seriously. Keep that in mind.

Anyway, there’s a lot more nuance to this situation than anyone seems to want to admit. The line between voluntary and involuntary identities isn’t as clear as we’re all pretending it to be.

Need to figure out where things went wrong and why I'm getting really old anti-kin blogs