Familiars have the capabilities of whatever beast they have the shape of, so it would depend on the familiar. Most familiars don't have hands or gripping claws, but an octopus or owl could probably do it.
RAW the eldritch cannon becomes a tiny object which you can old in your hand. The Owl stats says it is a tiny creature, so I would rule that an Owl couldn't carry the cannon. However, an Octopus is a Small creature, so likely it could carry it, though it can't fly and can only survive out of water for 30 minutes!
As a side note, an artificer with a familiar who makes an Arcane Firearm would be able to have the familiar carry it, as it's a wand, rather than a specifically sized item. This would mean you could take Shocking Grasp, and then have your familiar fly around with a Tazer-wand dealing 3d8 lightning damage to your foes as a cantrip!
RAW the eldritch cannon becomes a tiny object which you can old in your hand. The Owl stats says it is a tiny creature, so I would rule that an Owl couldn't carry the cannon. However, an Octopus is a Small creature, so likely it could carry it, though it can't fly and can only survive out of water for 30 minutes!
As a side note, an artificer with a familiar who makes an Arcane Firearm would be able to have the familiar carry it, as it's a wand, rather than a specifically sized item. This would mean you could take Shocking Grasp, and then have your familiar fly around with a Tazer-wand dealing 3d8 lightning damage to your foes as a cantrip!
In this case, the familiar would not need to carry the wand in order to do the extra damage.
"Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell."
The familiar just delivers the spell that you cast, it doesn't cast it, so it doesn't need to be holding the arcane firearm. In fact, if the familiar was holding the arcane firearm, the artificer would not get the bonus damage because they aren't casting their spell through it.
"You can use your arcane firearm as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells. When you cast an artificer spell through the firearm, roll a d8, and you gain a bonus to one of the spell’s damage rolls equal to the number rolled."
As for having your familiar carry the eldritch cannon - ask your DM. Tiny is a size category that ranges in size. Owls can vary a lot in size. The largest existing owls have a wing span near 6' so should be able to easily carry an eldritch cannon. On the other hand, a north american elf owl is only 6" long from tip to tail with a wingspan of about 10.5".
So depending on how "Tiny" the DM allows the eldritch cannon to be ... "Tiny" owls might be able to carry it ... so ask your DM. The size and weight of an eldritch cannon isn't defined except that a Tiny one can be held in your hand - which is still a large variation in possible size. A hawk might be a bit bigger than an owl (in D&D terms it has a strength of 5 vs 3 for the owl) so it might be a better choice to try carrying something but it really comes down to ask your DM.
But if your familiar is carrying the firearm then you are aren't touching it and therefore can't use it as a spell focus - so you won't be casting your spells "through the firearm".
my player who is an artificer is going the eldritch cannon path and wanted to use the familiar to carry there tiny cannon, is this possible?
Eldritch Cannon being airdropped by a familiar onto the battlefield sounds like fun. Why not use some leatherworker's tools and make a harness for the thing. I'm assuming you're the DM in the situation (you mentioned that this is your player, not your PC), your call.
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my player who is an artificer is going the eldritch cannon path and wanted to use the familiar to carry there tiny cannon, is this possible?
Familiars have the capabilities of whatever beast they have the shape of, so it would depend on the familiar. Most familiars don't have hands or gripping claws, but an octopus or owl could probably do it.
no but its ****in awesome so do it
RAW the eldritch cannon becomes a tiny object which you can old in your hand. The Owl stats says it is a tiny creature, so I would rule that an Owl couldn't carry the cannon. However, an Octopus is a Small creature, so likely it could carry it, though it can't fly and can only survive out of water for 30 minutes!
As a side note, an artificer with a familiar who makes an Arcane Firearm would be able to have the familiar carry it, as it's a wand, rather than a specifically sized item. This would mean you could take Shocking Grasp, and then have your familiar fly around with a Tazer-wand dealing 3d8 lightning damage to your foes as a cantrip!
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In this case, the familiar would not need to carry the wand in order to do the extra damage.
"Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell."
The familiar just delivers the spell that you cast, it doesn't cast it, so it doesn't need to be holding the arcane firearm. In fact, if the familiar was holding the arcane firearm, the artificer would not get the bonus damage because they aren't casting their spell through it.
"You can use your arcane firearm as a spellcasting focus for your artificer spells. When you cast an artificer spell through the firearm, roll a d8![]()
, and you gain a bonus to one of the spell’s damage rolls equal to the number rolled."
As for having your familiar carry the eldritch cannon - ask your DM. Tiny is a size category that ranges in size. Owls can vary a lot in size. The largest existing owls have a wing span near 6' so should be able to easily carry an eldritch cannon. On the other hand, a north american elf owl is only 6" long from tip to tail with a wingspan of about 10.5".
So depending on how "Tiny" the DM allows the eldritch cannon to be ... "Tiny" owls might be able to carry it ... so ask your DM. The size and weight of an eldritch cannon isn't defined except that a Tiny one can be held in your hand - which is still a large variation in possible size. A hawk might be a bit bigger than an owl (in D&D terms it has a strength of 5 vs 3 for the owl) so it might be a better choice to try carrying something but it really comes down to ask your DM.
But if your familiar is carrying the firearm then you are aren't touching it and therefore can't use it as a spell focus - so you won't be casting your spells "through the firearm".
Eldritch Cannon being airdropped by a familiar onto the battlefield sounds like fun. Why not use some leatherworker's tools and make a harness for the thing. I'm assuming you're the DM in the situation (you mentioned that this is your player, not your PC), your call.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad