Pootsie in Dreams & Waking Life
Many people dream about cats, especially people who own and/or care for cats. It is perhaps one of the most commonly searched dream themes that bring people to my blog so I decided to write a blog just on dreams about cats!
If you do a search on the Internet about the meaning of cats in dreams, you will find various offerings that run from the ridiculous to the profound. Stay away from explanations that offer pat answers and answers related to superstition. Our feline friends have had a long and rich relationship with humans collectively and us personally so they deserve much more careful reflection when they appear in our nocturnal journeys of the psyche.
A good starting point for researching the meaning of cats in dreams is to be found in Cloud Nine: A Dreamer’s Dictionary by Sandra A. Thomson which associates a type of psychic energy with the cat: feminine power. I like this explanation because I personally believe that all images and symbols in dreams represent types of energy within our psyche. Thus in considering a cat dream symbol I need to ask myself what part of my energy makeup does this dream cat remind me of? Is it my desire for or joy in independence? Is it related to the abilities of feminine intuition? Is it related to a personality trait such as being “catty?” In a man’s dream would it be related to feminine aspects of his psyche?
In waking life, I do have a tabby cat that is very assertive, curious and smart. When I dream of her, I not only think of how the dream might relate to or tell me about her as my pet, but also how her energy relates to some kind of energy within me. In dreams, I am always glad to see her acting boldly and running freely because the dream is probably telling me she is healthy and strong while those aspects of her that live in me are also healthy and strong.
And conversely, when I dream of her being hurt or unwell, it causes me to ask all sorts of questions not only about her well-being but my own as well. For example, I had a dream that she had a wounded leg which caused her to be immobile. A while later, that actually did happen and I had to care for her as if she were bedridden. The dream also was warning me that my own ability to make my way through life with catlike grace and knowing was impeded by wrong turns taken that just weren’t for me.
For additional reading, please see my other blogs:
A Source of Spiritual Insight: The Appearance of Animals in Dreams and Intuitive Inspiration
Fran Kramer 