To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day (14 page)

and wait until the dog returns to a sit. Within several days—

if not sooner—your dog will wait patiently until
you
say it is all right to begin eating.

This is not an idle exercise. Again, look at what is hap-

pening. The dog is learning that lunging and grabbing is not

necessarily an effective way of getting what it wants. It is

learning that pleasing you (by sitting) will be rewarded. It is learning to pay attention to you, which is a fundamental to

the deep, familiar relationship that you can build with a dog.

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While we are on the subject of food, I should men-

tion the importance of providing your canine familiar with

a healthy diet. The least expensive kibble is not necessari-

ly a bargain if it leads to expensive veterinary care later in the dog’s life. And do not trust the blurb on the bag saying

how great the stuff is for your dog. Look up and down the

aisle where these bags are displayed; there are no bags any-

where with a label saying “Contains an Unhealthy Blend of

Cheap Filler.” The front of the bag always suggests a product

that will deliver great taste and nutrition. You have to read

the tiny print to find out what is actually inside, and even

then it may remain a mystery. Give special attention to the

first three or four ingredients listed, as these are the primary ingredients in the food.

Many dogs have or may develop an allergy to grains like

corn, wheat and soy. If your dog has chronic skin or ear infec-

tions, check to see if these grains are in the food you buy.

I no longer feed commercial foods to my dogs. By prepar-

ing their food myself, I know exactly what they are eating. I

do not need to scrutinize ingredient labels or worry about

the quality of those ingredients.

If you want to provide whole, natural foods to your

canine familiar, be sure to educate yourself about the foods

that are toxic for their species. The most common of these

are chocolate, grapes (including raisins), onions, garlic,

uncooked dough and raw eggs. Also be aware that your dog

is likely to temporarily experience gas or diarrhea when you

first offer real food if the animal is accustomed to a diet of kibble or canned dog food. This reaction is entirely natural.

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If you were to eat nothing but fast food for months on end,

your own body would react to the change of a healthy salad.

`There are cookbooks written specifically for dogs, and it

can be fun to try different recipes. Over the years I have come up with my own recipe that is both healthful and easy to prepare.

ALARIC’S CANINE CUISINE

• 3 pounds of turkey, chicken or lean beef (varies with

whatever is on sale)

• 2 pounds carrots

• 3–5 yams

• 1 cup organic brown rice

• 1–2 zucchini or yellow squash

• 2 cans peas (preferably low salt or salt free)

• ½ cup vegetable oil.

Cook the meat. How you do this depends on what you

have bought. Cook ground turkey or ground beef in a skillet.

Cook chicken breasts in the oven. (There are many people

who recommend raw foods. The raw-versus-cooked argu-

ment has persisted for years. I cook the meats that I feed my

dogs, and this has worked very well for me.)

While the meat is cooking, chop the carrots and yams

into bite sized pieces. How big these are depends on your

dog. A Great Dane’s bite size is considerably larger than a

Shih Tzu’s bite size.

Put two cups of water in a large pot. Add the chopped

carrots and yams, and the rice. Cook this over medium heat

for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

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While the veggies are cooking, cut up the meat into bite

sized pieces. Obviously you do not need to do this if you

have used ground meat.

Cut up the zucchini or yellow squash, and add this to the

veggies after they have cooked 45 minutes. Also add the two

cans of peas. Let this cook another 15 minutes, stirring more

frequently to avoid scorching.

Mix together the veggie-mix and the cooked meats. This

is much easier to do if you let both cool down a little. After mixing these together, add the vegetable oil.

How much to feed your dog depends on how large and

active it is. As a very rough guideline, start out feeding ½ cup daily for every five pounds of body weight up to 25 pounds.

For larger dogs reduce this to 1 cup daily for every 15 pounds

of body weight. Then keep an eye on your dog (which you

should be doing anyway). If the dog loses weight to a point

where you begin to see its ribs, then increase the amount of

food. If the dog begins to get fat, decrease the amount.

*

This is a book about getting in touch with your spirituality,

not about animal care, so we do not have room here to dis-

cuss housebreaking, crate training, problem behaviors and

other issues that are better addressed elsewhere. I highly

recommend obedience classes, especially if you have never

had a dog before, but also if sharing your life with a canine

familiar is second nature to you. Group obedience classes are

excellent opportunities to enjoy quality time with your new

companion.

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CATS

But what if you are not up to meeting the demands that a

dog will present? What if you want a familiar that is reason-

ably responsive, but requires a minimum of fuss? If you do

not care whether the familiar will come when you call it, or

take a walk with you through the woods, you might be bet-

ter off with a cat.

As a familiar, the witch’s cat has become a cliché, although

not without good reason. There is a mystique about the cat

that has given rise to all sorts of beliefs and superstitions, often contradictory. In the United States a black cat is supposed to be a portent of bad fortune, however in England it is a bringer of luck (Simpson & Roud, p. 49). Good luck and misfortune are

both associated with almost everything about the cat: its color, its behavior, even the month is was born.

Historically, the cat has often suffered unfairly from

human prejudice. They were treated brutally during the

witch hunts, and at other times were believed to be natural

thieves (Hartley, p. 125). The latter may have some truth to it, but almost any animal—including humans—will sometimes

steal given the right circumstances.

There are not many references to fairy cats in folklore,

but perhaps this is because every cat has some fairy connec-

tion with mystery and magic. Instead, in the lore of the cat,

this animal is more likely to be associated with a deity, such

as the Egyptian goddess Bast, the Scandinavians’ Freya or the

Hindu goddess Shashthi (Andrews, p. 258).

Cats first attained their place as familiar spirits in Egypt,

where they were valued for their ability to control mice and

rats. They were greatly loved, and those who could afford to

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do so would have their cats embalmed and mummified after

they died. More than 300,000 mummified cats were found in

one temple to Bast when it was excavated and explored.

As a familiar, the cat has one enormous advantage over

the dog, and that is its ease of care. It is not a tribal or pack animal. Instead, the cat is a solitary hunter, and for this reason it can get along very well without our immediate pres-

ence. Leave out enough food, and the cat can usually be left

alone for a weekend without suffering any ill effects. Most of

the Pagans I’ve known who have cats are comfortable leaving

their animals alone for a couple of days.

Most, but not all. Laisey Hahn, a Pagan woman from

Minnesota, believes her cats should have more constant

attention. “I would never leave cat food out for a whole

weekend and leave them—at most an overnight trip,” she

says. “And I wouldn’t leave out food. Kibble is very bad for

kitties; cats need more water in their diet than they naturally have the inclination to drink. A diet of dry food only can lead to significant kidney problems.”

Training is not as much of an issue for cats as it is for

dogs. The cat, descended from desert hunters, has an instinct

to bury its strongly scented waste in sand, so “housebreak-

ing” usually consists of nothing more than showing the cat

where the litter box is located. And further training is rare-

ly an option that most people consider. Again, this is not uni-

versal. Laisey also tells me, “Most people have this idea that

cats can’t be trained and therefore they don’t try. I bought a

cat training book last year and have been training Frida to do

simple things like stand up, jump from chair to chair, et cet-

era. Of course it only works if I bribe her with treats!”

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As with dogs, training a cat is more than an exercise in

control. It is a means of bonding with the animal and devel-

oping a deeper, more familiar relationship. The good news,

for cat owners, is that training is an option rather than a

necessity. An untrained cat is not as likely to eat your favorite pair of shoes when you leave the animal alone for the afternoon.

Cats do come in a great variety of breeds, but this, too,

is a less important consideration than it is for a dog. Differ-

ent feline breeds vary less in both size and temperament than

dog breeds. If you choose a kitten for your familiar, most

likely the animal will not be purebred simply because selec-

tive breeding is less common for cats. The owner of the kit-

ten’s mother probably will not know what male cat sired the

litter. This only matters if you personally want a purebred

animal. Unlike dog breeds, most cat breeds were not devel-

oped to fill specific tasks such as herding cattle or hunting

vermin. With a few exceptions, the behavior of one breed of

cat is similar to that of most others.

Still, when considering a specific breed, educate your-

self about its typical personality and needs. The Siamese,

for example, tends to be a very vocal cat with a greater than

average need for attention. This breed is usually not a good

choice if you are gone most of the day, or if you want a quiet

familiar. Keep in mind, too, that long haired breeds like the

Persian or Balinese require frequent grooming to maintain

those luxurious coats.

Also, just as with a dog, it is always better to adopt a cat

or acquire one directly from the breeder rather than purchas-

ing it at a pet shop. If you are not particular about the breed, f 103 2

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your new cat may cost you nothing at all. Due to irrespon-

sible breeding there are always more kittens available than

homes to adopt them. On the other hand, the nominal adop-

tion fee charged by most no-kill shelters support these wor-

thy organizations and should not dissuade you from adopting

a shelter cat.

As a rule, food rewards often mean less to a cat than to a

dog. If your cat familiar is motivated by treats, count your-

self lucky. If not, do not force the issue. In exchange for not making nearly so many demands as a dog, the cat will often

be uncooperative in responding to your own demands. Cat

people call this “independence”.

You can, however, establish a more familiar relationship

with a cat than with many other animals. If you and your

cat enjoy any similar food (tuna fish often works), you can

present your new familiar to either your patron deity or to a

deity within your cultural pantheon who has an affinity for

the feline spirit. Some examples:

Culture

Deity

Anglo-Saxon

Fréo

British

Britannia

Egyptian

Bast

Hellenic (Greek)

Artemis

Norse

Freya

Roman

Diana

I am not aware of any Irish, Welsh or Sumerian deities

associated specifically with cats. If you follow one of these spiritual paths, address whichever deity you have the closest

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relationship with. The ritual itself is exactly as you would do with a dog.

You can acknowledge your cat as your familiar with this

ritual even if it does not respond especially well to treats.

Instead of offering food, simply hold the cat close as you sit before the altar and address the deity. Hold it against your

chest and feel your own aura merge with your cat’s as you

say the words, “Fur and skin, the same within.” This body

aura was known to the Saxons as the
hama
. Let that part of you, the protective field that surrounds your physical body,

flow into the cat’s hama.

It is nicer if you can include the sharing of food as a part

of the ritual, but of course with cats you are never complete-

ly in control.

Most Pagans incorporate meditation as part of their spir-

itual practice, and a feline familiar can be an excellent help

in this respect. Of course to receive any real benefit you