WHICH ZOO (totally misses the point of the post)

I will be at Roger Williams Park and Zoo (Providence, RI) tomorrow from 11 until 5. Technically, it's a date but PLEASE don't let that stop you (or anyone else reading this) from interrupting and coming up for a chat or a reading. Men interesting in dating me have to accept interruption in the form of magic, divination, deities, and cats at all times.

Well, you could use them for protection magic too. Barriers with bite, if you'll excuse the pun. Or you could include them in a witch bottle in place of pins or nails.

Very good, Critterwitch.

Critterwitch, you have arrived.

Soak the bitten thumb in a light solution of water and rubbing alcohol to prevent infection. Keep it clean and bandaged and change the dressing in the morning and at night. Watch for any signs of infection (swelling, extreme tenderness in the area, discoloration, pus/oozy discharge/bad smell coming from the wound) and go the ER immediately if you start to run a fever.

Ask the doctor to put you on an antibiotic if you're very concerned about infection. Generic versions should be available for tight budgets.

Well, there's a couple of schools of thought there.

Yes, a familiar is more than a pet. A familiar is an animal companion who assists with witchcraft and sometimes carries messages and does other tasks at a witches' bidding. These creatures can be seen or unseen, and can occupy both physical and metaphysical planes of existence.

Now, in a practical sense, we don't all have metaphysical animal companions to help us out. But a number of us have pets with whom we share a special connection who always seem to show up whenever anything witchy is going on. My cat Sebastian and Nen's cat Aggro are two examples. This is the other type of familiar. It's a bit more mundane and not as powerful, but every bit as useful for those of us who don't delve into the invisible or astral planes in our witchcraft.