by RavenCare (bear)

One of the joys of animal play is receiving treats (or giving them if you are an owner/handler). Whether you are a stray, solo player, or owned, our animals appreciate treats! Puppies, kittens, and, to a lesser extent, ponies, can find ideas for treats. There are recipes and websites within easy reach of your Google fingers. Some of us other animals find treat ideas harder to come by, particularly if we are new to the animal play scene.

This article is a starting point. I won't cover every animal out there. I hope to provide ideas for a few of the under-represented ones. Some of these ideas are animal-specific. Others can be generalized and used as stepping-stones to create something that suits your animal, and any allergies and diet requirements that your human body has.

The diets of many animals depend on where they live & the time of year. You can choose to restrict yourself to these factors or embrace your feral side and eat what you want when you want. I've taken a casual, any-food/any-time approach.

General ideas that can be adapted for any animal:

• granola/muesli (crunchy and gives a raw food sensation, easy to make and tailor to you)

• dry cereal (specially shaped or flavored like what your animal might eat)

• nuts, dried fruit, freeze-dried fruits and vegetables

• fresh fruit and vegetables

• snack or energy balls (if you make your own, you can use molds to create shapes)

• shaped candy, chocolate, cookies, crackers, breads or pastries

Bears and Raccoons:

Let us start with this because I am a bear. We are both omnivores so we can have the best of all worlds. Ice cream sundae with all the toppings? Steak? Veggie burger? Dairy-free, gluten-free muffin? ALL OF IT! Those are nice, but what about small, easy-to-handle treats?

• Fresh or dried fruit, berries in particular.

• honey sticks, honeycomb

• beef or salmon (or tofu, etc) jerky

• smoked salmon or fish

• crackers

Foxes:

You are omnivores like some of us, but you also eat birds, rabbits, rodents, frogs, and worms, so in addition to the above, you can also use candy, cookies, and crackers shaped like them.

Bunnies:

Vegetarians unite! Unless you are a bunny like the one in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (in which case, argh, and see the section for any carnivores).

• fresh or dried carrots and other vegetables

• candy, crackers, or cookies shaped like vegetables

• vegetable-based crackers

• hay and lawn grass are not good for human tummies, but you can nibble on a stalk of parsley, lettuce, spinach, or even green-dyed coconut (or mixed with spirulina or spinach)

Bats:

Fruit bats will have it easier, with fresh and dried fruit as well as fruit-shaped and flavored candy and chocolate. For the blood bats, it's a bit more difficult to make easy-to-carry treats.

• Red-coloured fruit juice and drinks will be your go-to, preferably with straws so you can feel you are 'sucking the blood' out of your prey

• red jello/jelly (vegan or not) that is either made more watery so it's blood-like, or more gelled so it is easier to handle

• tomato juice (V8 or similar) will be a good stand-in, with no judgments if you make a Bloody Mary!

Deer, Elk, Moose:

Like rabbits, natural foods such as leaves, twigs, hay, and grass won't be good for human stomachs.

• Deer eat fruit, while moose eat berries and mushrooms in some areas. All will eat crops, so corn, sunflowers, and soybeans are options

• rose hips in small quantities are an alternative

Birds:

Your treats will depend on what kind of bird you are.

• seeds and berries are the most obvious for many birds, especially sunflower seeds. You can eat nuts, especially if you are a parrot or other bird with a tough beak!

• carnivore birds will have treats similar to carnivore animals

Myticals & Legends:

I see you! You are rare, but not invisible. This section is for you.

Unicorns & Winged Horses:

You can follow suggestions for pony play, but here are some ideas that might respect your magical selves.

• cotton candy (aka candy floss)

• green-dyed coconut (or mixed with spirulina)

• star and cloud-shaped candy, cookies, and crackers

• edible flowers (rose petals, nasturtiums, and lavender, for example); if you are handy in the kitchen, you can make candied violets or pansies (avoid the yellow ones). Be sure to identify what you gather 100%, wash carefully and eat a little at first to be sure that you aren't allergic.

Dragons, Griffins & Gargoyles:

• person-shaped cookies, crackers, and candies

• beef (or tofu, etc) jerky

• rock candy, either as crystals, on a stick, or in a drink

• star and cloud-shaped cookies, crackers, or candy

Dinosaurs:

Ok, you aren't mythical or legendary. You fit in here as an extinct species, though. Some of you are vegetarians, and others are carnivores so you can follow any of the above.

• for the carnivores, you can eat dino-shaped candy or cookies

• while not historically accurate, nothing is stopping you from eating people-shaped cookies. You go, you velociraptor!

This list is only the beginning of what is possible. When you go grocery shopping, look through your inner animal's eyes.

Some words of caution. Foods made for animal consumption are not good for human teeth or digestive systems. They aren't made to the same standards as human-edible food and can cause sickness or, at worst, long-term health problems. If you are foraging for wild plants, please be 100% sure of your plant ID. Toxic plants sometimes mimic edible plants. If you are unsure about something, it's not worth risking your health for.