.: The Witch's Familiar :.

What Is A Familiar?
Quite literally, a Familiar is an attendant spirit in a physical [usually animal] form.

Why Do I Need A Familiar?

Frankly, you don't. However, many solitaries crave at least some form of interaction. To that end, a familiar is often obtained.

How Do I Get One?

That is of a personal nature for each magick user. I can only tell you what I have done in order to call an attendant spirit to myself.
I stood at the peak of a very large structure and I performed an Air Spell which I had designed around the desire for a familiar. He came to me within 3 days. He was with Me for 3 years. He passed away in early December of 2002, and I miss him terribly. If you would like to see My Blue-boy, click HERE.

What If I Get A New Puppy Or Kitten? Can That Be My Familiar?

It is doubtful, as you do not choose your familiar...your familiar chooses you. You can't just pick up a kitten and tell it, "You're my new familiar," and have it happen. A familiar is an attendant spirit, therefore, it chooses whom it will attend. It is a sentient being, and not just a pet. That's what makes him/her a familiar.
Familiars do live in the house with you, usually. They prefer to bed near the human with which they have bonded, and should (when possible) be given full run of the house and everything in the house. If you find a destructive nature within an animal you believe may be your familiar, try again. Your familiar will not destroy your house and/or your belongings unless there is a serious physical problem with the familiar's physical body; ie: feline leukemia, kidney failure, heartworms, etc. Remember. A familiar finds you. You don't find them.

Familiars will lend to your Magick, safeguard your home and your body while you sleep. Familiars will look into your eyes and you will KNOW they are sentient. That is the most important clue I can give you... FAMILIARS ARE SENTIENT. They are AWARE of you and the things around you, of themselves and the things around themselves. They have the ability to THINK and to REASON. Some dogs are "car aware," some aren't. One which is not would not be a possible familiar. Some cats actually look before they jump. Those who do not are not going to be a familiar to you, or anyone else. These beings who would be, "Familiars," are just that; beings in animal form, not animals.

Many modern Witches tend to substitute the word "famliar" for that of "pet." These two words are NOT synonymous. A Witch's pet is just that...a pet. A familiar is a logicaly thinking being which has taken the physical form of an animal, and acts in the capacity of a physical attendant spirit.

I hope this can assist you in your search.

For a lesson in how to bond with your Familiar, go here.