What kind of animal do witches most commonly have as a familiar? I'm guessing cats...if so, why cats?

Question

What kind of animal do witches most commonly have as a familiar? I'm guessing cats...if so, why cats?

Answer 1

Familiars can be any creature.  They are commonly animals people normally keep as pets.  If you have a pet, do you not feel a connection to it?  It would not even be noticed by most people as unusual.  If you want to know, familiars are best picked if they pick you first.  My first cat came to me and sat on my porch for three days (I thought she was a neighbor's cat) until I gave in and concerned about the weather took her in (yes, y'all I took her to the vet and posted pics, noone called).  Familiars are usually assigned duties, like an assigned role.  I won't get into that.

Cats are often attributed because "witch" has female attributes.  The popular culture points "women like cats, men like dogs", which of course is silly.  Cats are labeled mostly appropriately as standoffish and aloof, versus dogs, happy go lucky.  So mysterious vs open.  Go figure.  And my cat is complaining.  Is a secret message?

No.  She wants me to get off the computer and play with her.  Boo.  And yes, she's black.

Answer 2

Black cats,for bad luck.

Answer 3

Most of those I know have cats or a dog. I had six and two dogs once, and they rarely faught.

Cat worship was common in Egypt, and a great many were mummified. They were revered as a symbol of Bast / Bastet. Where Bast was seen as the protector.

UK folklaw included the inclusion of a dead cat in the thatch of a house. It was said to protect the thatch from burning down and thunderstorms.

They have has mystical properties for centuries, and witches were said to turn into cats whenever they wished. What is more likely is that the witches hid whenever disturbed, but the cats were more obvious. This added to superstition and led to the burning times .

Cat's are not that good swimmers either - which led to them being called evil, as they hate getting wet. It was a commonly held belief that evil cannot cross water or iron.

Answer 4

First witches do not always have familiars.

Second a "familiar spirit" can take the form of any creature, it may appear to be a small mammal or a bird or reptile or amphibian.

Third historically those burned as witches were reported to have dogs more often than cats.

Additionally there is a neurotic behavior that commonly affects lonely older women - the crazy cat lady who has a house full of cats... People are not that understanding of mental problems even in the present time, how much worse do you suppose it was in the dark ages.  

Answer 5

Its funny that some of the earliest stories of cats and magic were light colored, not black.  As someone else stated, during the burning times cats were killed which caused a boom in the rodent population and caused the black death to spread unchecked.  If they wouldn't have been so inclined to their fears of witches changing into cats, the cats would have kept the rodents in check and the black death wouldn't have been such a widespread problem.

Various goddesses and gods are associated with different animals:  Athena/Owl, Morrighan/Raven, etc.

Answer 6

because black cats scare people and / or they mean something bad is gonna happen . and the which thinks that the cat can talk!

Answer 7

cat are suosed to be able to see evil and now which is just bad and they are supoe to be able to see gost too, better than any other I cant remeber where I read it, but you never know

Answer 8

chihuahuas - those are vile little things

Answer 9

Do you know what a "familiar" actually is?

"A familiar animal, in folklore, is an animal believed to be possessed of magic powers such as the ability to change its shape. It may be a temporary form assumed by a spirit, devil or trickster god."

"In early modern English superstition, a familiar spirit, imp, or familiar (from Middle English familiar, related to family) is an animal-shaped spirit who serves for witchery, a demon, or other magician-related subjects. Familiars were imagined to serve their owners as domestic servants, farmhands, spies, and companions, in addition to helping bewitch enemies."

Many modern-day witches may have one or more household pets that they feel a strong connection with, because witches are very nature oriented and tend to love animals.  

Mine is a black dog, not a cat - and while she tends to like to hang out on the rug I sit on to meditate in front of my altar, she does not possess magical powers, nor does she "serve" me in any way other than to be a good companion.

Answer 10

Black Cats. Hm.

Over time people have changed thing's around and exaggerated them to make them sound bigger than big.

Im a Navajo/Comanche Indian,

I've studied witchcraft, folklore, myth, and legends for years.

All that type of stuff interests me because of my roots.

But I can't really say why witches/wiccans are ophiliated with Black Cats.

Hope I helped.

Answer 11

Cats were demonized in the Middle Ages when those with old medical knowledge used herbal medicine and cleanliness for heath.  Cats killed rodents, thus fleas, which carried illness, therefore the medical practitioners and their cats were "magic" and evil.  A lot of cats were killed, which made the plagues worse, but people were scared...Europe in the 14th Century (1300's) was not a fun place to live.

Answer 12

Most likely because there's a history behind cats and the gods starting back to ancient Egypt with the goddess Bast, daughter of Ra. They would sentence people to death if they ever harmed a cat. It was pretty insane, but very interesting. The whole witches thing is because cats were known as familiars to the devil in the old days because of superstition of the silly English men...

Cats are actually very intuitive and independent, unlike dogs who can be very attached and unable to make it on their own... they're still cute though ^_^... So cats were used as "tools" for Wicca, because they were so "in tuned"...

hope that helped a little :)

Answer 13

Witches are evil so I'm guessing cats.