The Princess and the Pellet
October 23, 2017
2:55 am
This is a true story about pigeon ownership, I assume fancy velociraptors behave virtually identically to pigeons.
Manly Guys Doing Manly Things
Updated Mondays or whenever I feel like it
Yeah, this is all animals. They’ll pick healthy stuff out of their food, then dive for the nearest choking hazard. Good lord, let me keep you alive cute animals!
Not just animals! This also applies to children.
…Well, I guess some might consider children to be animals.
IKR? I’m going this sounds EXACTLY like a toddler.
Could always resort to child-rearing through natural selection.
I don’t know your species, Nobody, but humans breed far too slowly for this to be a viable option.
Honestly we could stand to lose a few million or so humans anyways.
Yeah, letting natural selection take it’s course is more of a moral concern than a logistics one.
Most developed nations frown on parents letting their children kill themselves out of lack of common sense.
Meanwhile for hundreds of years, most common women would essentially have dozens of children with the basic understanding that most of the poor kids would die from accidents, sickness, etc, with only a few of them getting to adulthood.
Tsapki not sure about your cultural background but for my ancestors ONE dozen kids was a lot. They certainly didn’t have that many because they knew ‘most of them would die’ but because they had little control over it.
Instead of debating the validity of neglect perhaps recall that birth control is a thing and that proper sex ed + access to contraception applied widescale is a highly effective means of population control.
After reading the ingredients and tasting a couple, I opted against pellets. When I had to get my bird off seeds and onto fresh veggies, it was the better part of a week before she ate anything at all, because she got, and still gets, no other food. She was fine. 15 years later, she still is. Nobody becomes a skeleton in a few days, or dieting would be a lot easier. The problem is the delusion that they must eat every day or you’re automatically a bad parent. Any child or pet can easily outwait that mindset.
For a second I swore you were talking about a toddler
Dude, you were lucky. This is true of many animals, but birds are notorious for starving themselves with no symptoms until they are dying. I have personally had a budgie die because I thought I had successfully weaned him onto pellets and I hadn’t.
Also, cats can go into liver failure in a matter of days if they have a period of starvation (hepatic lipidosis). That doesn’t mean they always will, but it does mean you shouldn’t play chicken with your pet’s life – I mean, you can absolutely take away their preferred food, but it really really does matter to be sure that they don’t starve themselves. Because they might.
Dogs, OTOH, can almost always be got to change food by not being soft on it.
I went on a vacation for a week, had a pet sitter to refill food and everything, other cats did fine, but one cat was so alarmed by the change that she refused to eat and got that fatty liver disease like you’re saying. It’s really no joke.
In D&D you use animal Handling for children.
This reminds me of something the comedian Gallagher has said about cats: “Won’t eat the food you buy for them, then goes off behind the couch to like their butt. I ought to sell butt-flavored cat food.”
Arrrgh! Lack of editing on my part!
“LICK their butt,” not like their butt. Well, maybe they’d “Like” a butt-pic on Facebook, maybe…
Well technically they must like it to lick it right?
Think licking is bad, what about your dog happily scarfing down a fox deposit (as well as rolling in it) but picks out all the veggie biscuits.
Dogs don’t really need veggies though right? I know cats are more obligate carnivores but then you get all these people feeding their dogs and cats vegetarian diets and it’s not a good thing
Dogs actually do need vegetables. They’ve adapted to fit with our own omnivorous diets, and can get full nutrition from a variety of sources so meat isn’t the absolute necessity it is with cats. But an all-meat diet for a dog is not going to have enough calcium and iron.
Exactly. They do also have the added bonus of giving them extra carbohydrates and fibre which helps out the other end. My pooch sits and drools when I have sprouts and cabbage and woofs them down, my friend couldn’t believe it when she was more interested in the veg over the chicken. What can I say I have an unusual dog.
So it’s okay if I feed my cat potato chips? She REALLY likes them, especially Pringles. I know that potatoes are tubers not vegetables per se but I thought they might be included in the fruits and vegetables food group.
Potatoes are in the vegetables food group, just in the starchy vegetables subgroup. And small amounts of potatoes are ok as a treat for cats (unless diabetic) but potato chips are loaded with salt, and cats are prone to kidney issues, and too much slat only makes that worse. So if you do let her have chips, only let her have very small amounts once in a while. Because kidney failure is an ugly way to die.
Vegetarian diets are not a good idea for dogs or cats. But small amounts of leafy greens are good for both, and dogs can digest starchy veggies and grains. Though too much of either is hard on their health.
Wild canines will eat small amounts of ripe fruits, as well as tender green leaves, and the partially digested stomach contents of their prey. Wild cats will also nibble a little bit of tender green leaves and eat some of the stomach contents of their prey. And the earliest ancestors of dogs adapted to eat more like humans, so dogs can digest plant based foods a little better than their wild relatives. Though they are still carnivores.
Eh. Last time my cat got sick he spent about an hour and a half pooping and licking his butt while growling, so idk
We had the same problem with our Senegal. If he had his way, he’d live on cheetos and pizza crust.
He hated veggies, and they’d rot in the heat. He hated the balanced nutrient pellets and would fling them out of the cage. He’d only eat peanuts. Then I started only giving him pellets (peanut flavored, since he hated those less than the fruit flavored ones), and only when his food dish was empty for a while. And I’d only give him a little bit.
Let’s just say that he doesn’t fling his pellets out of the cage any more.
I get around this somewhat by having only ever fed my eight month old cats the same Purina Kitten Chow since they were seven weeks old. About a month ago I gave them all small pieces of steak as a treat and they didn’t know what to do with it; I’d never given them table scraps before and I don’t eat around them. One of them did once throw up a rubber band, though, so it’s impossible to avoid completely.
But….but…. weren’t velociraptors carnivores? Maybe… maybe she’s just not MEANT to eat fruit and veg because she’s not an omnivore?
And the staple is good for the gizzard
If I had to retcon I mean justify it, I’d say “fruits and veggies” wasn’t literally that, just the equivalent spacefuture foodstuffs that was one or more steps removed from “nutrient pellets”.
As far as I know, most carnivorous species do need some plant matter to supplement their food intake – Of course in the wild, they get at least some of that from eating their prey’s stomach and whatever happens to be in it. But most pet owners can probably attest to their carnivorous pets showing keen interest in some meatless foods even when it’s not inside a small animal’s stomach.
Most carnivorous species have digestive systems that wouldn’t know what do do with plant matter even if it does somehow get in. When you see a cat eat grass, for example, they aren’t getting any nutrients out of it, because they literally cannot digest it. You might be thinking of the variety of vitamins and amino acids that you can only get from plants. Carnivores do get those by eating herbivores, but they get it from the meat, not from the plant matter in their stomachs. The adorable raptors may look like fluffy birds, but don’t forget that they’re still vicious carnivorous pack hunters.
Eating parts of digestive systems from certain herbivores that contain fermented plant matter is good for carnivores, it’s the idea behind feeding your pets green tripe. The herbivore already broke everything down so the carnivore can get the nutrients and beneficial gut flora that they don’t have the digestive system necessary to break down themselves.
Objection your honour – Velociraptors probably didn’t hunt in packs
You’re construing the unspecific “plant matter” with the specific part of plant matter called “cellulose”. Most animals can’t digest cellulose, even humans can’t, and grass and leaves are almost 100% cellulose, which is why our pets and us don’t eat grass. Most carnivores are on the other hand capable of digesting many fruits and vegetables quite well, and there is nothing wrong with supplementing a carnivore’s diet with them as long as you know what is safe for them to eat and what nutrients they need.
IDK, I always thought raptors weren’t such small things. The feathers I knew about but I was fairly certain they were at least chest height on a average human male. I mean these guys have been described as toothy chickens before.
Well remember these are spacefuture raptors. The cloning and breeding processes changed them. Like, these are the miniature schnauzers of velociraptors.
You’re thinking Utahraptor, which was misnamed Velociraptor in Jurassic Park. Actual Velociraptor skeletons are chicken sized.
Utahraptors hadn’t been discovered when JP was made, they made the Velociraptors bigger to make them scary, and then folks happened to find a larger raptor in fossils. That’s why it’s called Utahraptor spielbergi.
At the time the Jurassic Park novel was being written there was a prevailing theory that Deinonychus and Velociraptor were the same species.
Like the recent theory about Torosaurus and Triceratops that actually panned out.
The Velociraptor one however did not pan out, but the movie decided to keep the inaccurate but catchier name “Raptor” as opposed to something like “Nony” or “Deino” the former of which is silly, and the latter confusing.
Isn’t it also a nice little thing that Velociraptor is the family name, and a species name? Velociraptor deinonychus, Velociraptor velociraptor, etc.
Beat out by the plains bison subspecies of the American bison, which is Bison Bison Bison.
That sounds like someone spamming moves in Street Fighter…
It’s not, though? Deinonychus and Velociraptor are both generic names, and neither is a specific name. There’s Deinonychus antirrhopus and Velociraptor mongoliensis (there’s also another Velociraptor species but I do not remember the name). At one point, scientists thought Deinonychus antirrhopus actually belonged in the Velociraptor genus (as Velociraptor antirrhopus) but that phylogeny has since been discarded. Velociraptor and Deinonychus are in the same family (Dromaeosauridae) but different subfamilies (Dromaeosaurinae and Velociraptorinae, as of me writing this, but theropod phylogeny is a mess).
The best parallel size-wise to the JP velociraptors is probably actually Achillobator but that wasn’t described until the late 90s, I think. Utahraptor is actually probably too big.
There was species closely related to velociraptors, Deinonychus for example, about that size, but velociraptors themselves were wild turkey size, and, of course, as seen with wolves turned into dogs. selective breeding can shrink a species considerably.
Most of the species that fall into the category of Raptor were quite small, compared to others. From the fossil records, the larger species were more rare because larger animals have to eat so much more food & the smaller species could hide better from other predators.
Adult velociraptors were about knee-high and estimated to weight 15-33 lbs. Jet’s are stubby fancy satinette raptors so they don’t have the long bodies and tails, but I think of them as about the size of large turkeys.
That’s really cool, thanks for sharing. I hope didn’t sound critical or anything, I was just wondering.
“Fancy satinette raptors” is the best description. Like you can just get them from any local breeder.
Too much pigeon and/or chicken in the restored DNA cocktail, they need their veggies.
Considering how chickens react to finding an animal small enough for them to kill and eat (like a mouse or small lizard), I have no trouble imagining Jet’s raptors having a good dose of chicken DNA in them.
This was a problem for me, because I live with someone who just does not listen when it comes to proper training, and tends to sabotage my own attempts. Ever see a shetland sheepdog recoiling with his ears flat because someone is trying to spoonfeed him after he’s turned up his nose at everything else?
This was finally resolved when we had to leave him in the “care” of someone whose sense of responsibility was something less than stellar. His response to instructions about how little Elliot might not want his food and might need to be spoonfed yogurt was met with a big grin, a jovial nod, and a cheery declaration of “I ain’t spoonfeeding no damn dog.” Sure enough, after a week of having food bowls placed before him with a “take it or leave it” attitude, little Elliot got the hint and started eating whatever he was offered and being grateful for it.
Harsh, but no less effective for that.
Had to do the exact same thing when my father went from spoiling our dog a little bit to basically splitting his meals with him (and thus little Max turned his nose at anything that wasn’t to his standards).
I absolutely love family time comics with Jet and Angel and their little raptor babies.
Just as true for dogs. Mine would throw himself at the food bowl, scarf all the regular pellets, leave the arthrosis mix untouched, and then bark at you accusingly because he was still hungry. Then we’d go for a walk and he’d eat all the paper tissues he could lay his teeth on.
Miss you, Finn, you silly little bugger.
Heh, I’m reminded of my hens; who will eat nearly anything, but one of them has to go first (take one for the team) – one of my gals has a thing for hair ties, though. Guess what? You cannot outrun a chicken. (but you can get them in a corner and snag said hair tie if you have skills (or a grape that is way tastier than said hair tie and the hen that is on the bottom of the pecking order is seen to be getting said grape first! Heh.)
LOL with my hens no matter what treats I bring home its an all out brawl.
But I have noticed there is a differing in tastes among the girls
I work in a kitchen so I get alot of food scraps, Its usually a good mix of fruits veggies, and meats. Ive noticed some will ignore everything if there are leafy greens and nom those, others go for the meat. and my smallest most bullied little hen Spot will body check big Mama out of the way if there is fish. Heck one time she swooped in sngged a huge chunk of fried fish the charged the closed pen door managing to knock it open and run off into the yard with the fish all to her self.
but non of them seems to like pumpkin
that’s like my cat and the half year worm medicine….it just requires a dose of tough love and me feeling guilty for a week to get her to eat it
Cats are hard bad about that. Mine will just hold it under tongue and then the moment I think she’s eaten it she’ll spit in my face, literally. Then while, I’m recovering from this she disappears, and it takes me at least a day to find her again, and that’s only IF she wants to be found.
yeah i quite literally force it halfway down her throat and then rub her throat so she swallows by reflex, she will glare at me drink some water and not be found for 2 days
Woo!
I was like: “yeah! another raptor comic!” when i saw it
this also applies to conures and cockatoos.
Long time lurker, first time commentor. My partner and I have had this conversation about our cats. Right down to “she’s eating a staple”.
They also demand tithes of bread.
Ridiculous floor beasts.
No offense against bred and raised pigeons, wild pigeons here in Brazil aren’t picky at all, they eat about anything you coudn’t imagine.. they are called “ratos voadores” (flying rats) and are considered a plague (because they carry parasites and spread some nasty diseases)
I swear, they even try to peck your feet if they see you eating a hotdog to try to make you drop some toppings (I almost stepped on one because of this).
I figure raptors are obligate carnivores, so picking out fruit and veggies makes sense. Kinda like how feeding grains, fruit and veggies to cats is bad for them.
My rats did this exact same thing. Hated the nutritional pellets
One thing about this comic puzzles me though. There in the space-future setting, I see Angel using some sort of electronic pad which I gather is THE common thing there. In that setting it would also make sense that *nobody* uses paper anyway, so…who lost that staple on the floor in the first place?
Well, how else are space-future people meant to keep their e-pads organised?
It’s the only staple for miles around, and Princess managed to find it. Fits my experience of pets and children…
Not only is that staple a choking hazard, it’s also a valuable antique!
They’re also frequent time travelers. Easy to pick one of those up on one of their trips, accidentally or otherwise.
I have a big problem with wallabies in my garden. They know exactly what i don’t want them to eat an head straight for that plant.
Old gardening joke: how do you know if the plants are ripe? Something ate em last night.
Have you tried eating the wallabies? That might teach them to stay away.
Makes sense to me, could be the pigeons inherited that behavior from ‘raptors in the first place.
I love the idea of fancy velociraptors being prehistoric fat pigeons.
They are too pampered now and are misbehaving. I think Commander should sweep in and give some parenting counceling :P
There’s always the trick of coating the medicine in peanut butter, and for birds adding seeds on top of that, but then they just lick it off..
My cat, Siranil/Dii Dovah, won’t eat the cat food if any of our other cats are also eating. She just goes to eat the dogs food instead, or whatever electronic device I might be holding. Because of this she’s got a bulky build, not fat just muscular. Adds to her dragon aesthetic~
Yeah you should probably do your best not to let her eat dog food. Or let your dog eat cat food, it’s bad for them and can cause kidney stones
Yeah, my dog and my parrots all do that. Minus the choking hazards, so does my husband. (Green doesn’t belong in pasta!)
This is me as an adult. Pick out all the healthy stuff, eat the meager amount of tasty stuff that’s left then decide I want to try something new and then end up sick for a few days.
I once walked a dog (owned by my boss, probably the pickiest, most spoiled dog in existence) who ate gravel.
Just love any strip featuring princess and her sisters!
This is also true with hedgehog ownership.
“What is wrong with you?”
Iron deciciency, I imagine.
This is why you grind the pellets into powder and mix it in that way. Harder to taste, and there’s only so long they can hunger strike. Also, I love these two. So much fun.
As a cat and former dog owner, I can attest that lots of animals will do this. They will eat any weird thing they find (one of my cats once tried to eat a thumb tack. He spit it out when it poked him, but then he KEPT TRYING). And yet, almost everyone who has ever had a pet can attest to the difficulty of getting them to swallow one pill, even eating around it entirely if you don’t crush it up first.
I want that pudgieraptor’s annoyed look as an emoticon from the first panel. XD
Grind the pellets into powder and mix them in with the food?
When I was a kid and my family had to treat one of the chickens we had on the farm, the bird would be isolated and we would powder the medication or vitamin and blend it with a tin of cat food that was then smeared on a tortilla and cut into tiny pieces before being offered…. worked 90% of the time to get the meds into the hens.
Overlooked a staple diet to eat a staple.
One of my rabbits has been unwell. Recovering now, but still picky about food. One of the stranger ones? Bunny food from the bowl? Definitely won’t eat. Hopping around and finds some bunny food that’s been spilled? Immediately eats. We also tried to switch the rabbits to a less rich food recently, by slowly introducing it into their regular stuff. It got dug out, just like this
As funny as this is going to sound, I had this exact same issue with a betta fish.
The first betta fish I bought as an adult was a poor skinny little fella who was probably on his way out when I got him, and didn’t eat much in the three weeks I owned him.
After about a month of cycling the tank and doing research, I got another betta fish, who was a sassy lil fella I named Omen, because he was a black crowntail, and the night we bought him our car broke down.
Omen refused to eat anything other than dried bloodworms and the little pellets I gave his tank mates (which he can’t really digest well). I spent about a month looking for different types of food to feed his royal highness, because I was super paranoid about the fish not eating, which is why I have five different types of food for one fish, which should last me twice as long as his average life expectancy
Life imitating art imitating life :
This comic sparked a catch phrase ‘Not For Corgis’ amongst my family. Something we would say when shooing our two pembrook’s away from food and things we didn’t want them getting their snouts in.
This comic comes out just after we had to take one of them to the vet for eating rocks. :/
She ate a staple because she needs more irons in her blood.
They were engineered with iron deficiency to prevent them from escaping captivity and disrupting the natural ecosystem :/
ha ha, perhaps she is about to brood some eggs and that pregnancy is making her crave wierd shit!
Can confirm, my parakeet does the same thing and won’t eat anything that isn’t seeds.
I am enamoured with this entire series of “pet problems, except she’s a dinosaur”
After going through some clips of Brooklyn 99 I firmly believe that if this comic got a live-action version Terry Crews would be perfect for Jet.
What happened to the parrot T. rex?