A Witch's familiar is an animal spirit or a magical construct created by the Witch or the Magician as an adjunct to their magical workings, as a repository for power, and if needed as a defense against magical attack from another magic user. A Witch or a magician can draw upon the energies of the familiar when they need an extra boost of energy in a magical working. Conceivably if the spell is important enough, the Witch could completely drain the familiar of energy causing it to "die" or cease to exist. And in the case of a magical attack, the attack could be diverted to the familiar so that it would be the familiar which is destroyed rather than the magic user. None of these are things that I think any of us would want to do with our pets.
There is an excellent article on familars here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familiar_spirit
Actual nimals are very sensitive to the energies around them and they may be drawn to us when we are working magic because they can sense the energy. They also want to be around their people, which again will make them want to be where we are..and that may be where we are doing magic. Neither of these things makes an actual animal a familiar or inherently magical in and of itself.
Also - Please stop typing your topics in capital letters. It is against the rules of this site. Continuing to do so may mean you will no longer be able to post here.
So, it's not possible to just come upon your Familiar? From my research so far, I read that a Familiar comes into your life by chance, and they like to hang around your Wiccan materials.
Just two aspects that fit my cat, Petra. About 2 years ago, 2 days after one of my other elderly cats passed away. This kitten just shows up in our yard, literally out of nowhere. No family to be seen anywhere, which was extremely odd. One, lone kitten, by itself, about 8 weeks old. I was able to pick her up by hand, and bring her right inside.
She also lays next to the trunk where I store my portable altar and tools, and especially loves my Bastet statue. She is constantly marking the trunk with the side of her face, as well as my tools. She is very persistant, and she will often times make things somewhat difficult for me when I am preparing things for a blessing, etc.
She really does feel like my Familiar because not long after she appeared, I started slowly looking into the Wiccan religion, like she was encouraging me to do so.
No, our pets are not our familiars. A familiar is an energetic being created by the magic user as a way to gather and store energy and to accomplish specific tasks for them. Your cat is most likely being drawn to the energies attached to your tools and supplies. But it is not your familiar.
