Animal Familiar?

I have a few questions on the topic regarding: Animal Familiars.

These are my questions.

What is an animal familiar? And what can it do for you?
I am already aware that if you are performing a spell, an you need more energy, your familiar will provide it for you. However, if the familiar uses up too much energy, it may die. Any other information?

Can a familiar be any kind of animal? An if it is, can you only see it? Is it invisible?

What is the difference between a familiar and a companion?
Are they the same?

Can you create a familiar? Or does it have to be an animal that is there.

And lastly, does anyone have any good spells for turning a pet into a familiar/creating a familiar?

Thank you for taking time for reading my questions, and hopefully, answering them. I hope to create a familiar to help me.

Blessed Be~

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Familiar is a word for a familiar-spirit a spirit wih whom you work more othent than the other entaties, so baisicly normal entatie rules

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

Animals 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 the animal a familiar or inherently magical in and of itself.