Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

254 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

have been living with people so

long that they have become com-

pletely integrated into our human

lives. They can be incredibly in-

telligent, sensitive, and psychic,

and can bond as deeply as you

are willing to with them. Clearly,

these are very special furry

people. One of the most satisfying ways to get a famil-

iar is to go to an animal shelter and rescue a kitten or

puppy and give it a home. You will be its hero for life!

I have had several remarkable feline familiars in

my life. Octobriana, our tortoise-shell Siamese, was

the most amazing. She would look right into my eyes

and carry on a conversation, and we understood each

other perfectly (cats have more than 100 vocal sounds;

dogs only have about 10). We got her as a kitten from

the animal shelter the day we moved to Greenfield

Ranch in 1977, and she was with us through the next

16 years and many adventures. Then, one Summer

day, she went over and had a conversation with a feral

(wild) mama cat next door. Afterwards Octobriana laid

down as if to sleep, and died. The next morning, one of

the mama cat’s wild kittens showed up at our door,

insisting on being adopted. He claimed he’d been sent,

and was reporting for duty!

(Sadly, not only had his mother

not been spayed, she also

hadn’t been vaccinated, and he

was already infected with feline

leukemia and died soon thereafter.)

So if you get a dog or cat, the most important

thing is to have it spayed or neutered, and vaccinated!

There are around 40–50 million homeless cats roam-

ing the U.S., and probably half as many dogs. Animal

shelters and humane societies kill more than 15 million

unwanted dogs and cats every year. Only 30% of im-

pounded pets are reclaimed, adopted, or rescued. The

remaining 70% are destroyed. Many more die from

disease, starvation, animal attacks, and cars. Not neu-

tering an animal is just plain irresponsible.

Ferrets

A 2001 cen-

sus of U.S. pet

ownership listed

one million ferrets in American homes. These “wascally

weasels” are so adorable, curious, and fun-loving that

most owners have two or more. “Wuzzies” can be lit-

ter-box trained, but not as reliably as cats, and they

eat cat food. Ferrets have been domesticated for 5,000

years or so, originally for hunting rabbits. They have

become enormously popular in the U.S. in recent years,

even appearing in movies (such as The Fellowship of

the Ring). However, as familiars, ferrets are awfully

scatter-brained, excitable, and hyperactive—and they

have very short lifespans. I once had a wuzzie named

Lilly, and I was heartbroken when she grew old and

died within just a few years.

Rats

Harry Potter’s

friend Ron has a rat

named Scabbers as his familiar. Rats make excellent

“starting” familiars, as they are smart, clever, curious,

and sociable. They also have their own language in

their complex colonies, so they are naturally receptive

to human communication. However, once again there

is the problem of a very short lifespan. The best food

for rats is Purina Rat Chow or dry dog chow, but they

are omnivorous and enjoy many other treats.

Rats now come in a variety of colors and pat-

terns—a great improvement from my youth, when you

could only get them in white. One white rat I had—

named Hoopoo—joined our household at the same

time our Siamese cat, Mai-Su, had her litter. He nursed

right along with the kittens, and seemed to think they

were his family. When the kittens were old enough,

their mama taught them all how to use the litter box—

including Hoopoo! And in his turn, he taught the kit-

tens how to sit on their haunches politely around the

cat food bowl and eat daintily with their paws. (And

no, the mother cat did not teach Hoopoo to catch mice!)

Bunnies

Morning Glory has a gray

rex bunny named Smoke.

She says that bunnies make

excellent familiars for girls in

particular, as they are sa-

cred to the Moon Goddess.

But “Br’er Rabbit” is a popular and extremely mascu-

line folk hero in the American South, especially among

African-Americans. Bunnies are quite smart for prey

animals and are social enough to get along well in a

household, even with other animals. Unless you are

breeding them, you should only have one. It can be

kept either in an outside cage, or hutch, or live indoors

like a cat or ferret. Your bunny can learn to use a litter-

box, but it will chew the bindings off books on low

shelves. They eat mostly alfalfa pellets, but they also

enjoy treats and table scraps of garden veggies such

as carrots and broccoli. Your bunny should not be

turned loose in your yard, unless it is completely en-

closed with a fence that is buried at least a foot into

the ground. Bunnies are great tunnelers! However,

you can make a temporary corral with a bit of wire

fencing and move this around the yard over patches

of clover. If you have a bunny familiar, you might keep

it in your room at night and dream together at the full

Moon.

Horses

Morning Glory says horses are not just for girls!

They have been domesticated for 5,000 years, and for

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