Strange items frequently appear in your dreams that seem to have no place there: Raise your hand if you’ve ever gone full superhero and flown in a dream. People you’ve never met. Activities you’ve never engaged in. However, occasionally more… uninteresting things come across you on your midnight wanderings. like cats, for instance. It makes sense to be curious about the meaning of dreams involving cats, whether you like them or are firmly on the dog side of the fence.

But cats make for very good dream material. Despite being a common sight in most people’s everyday life, they have millennia of artistic and mythical symbolism tied to them, making them the perfect ambassadors to your subconscious minds. Look at them as they dart off to play with a bit of stray tinfoil while carrying signals from your innermost self (the tinfoil is a metaphor for your soul, obvi).

Bustle talked with a licenced dream analyst about the many motivations behind those feline-themed evenings in order to help you interpret the meaning of your cat dreams.

Why You Keep Dreaming about Cats

According to Lauri Loewenberg, a qualified dream analyst, dreams are subconscious ideas. She claims that having dreams about cats is not accidental; rather, your subconscious is using them as metaphors for various aspects of your life. According to Loewenberg, “the cat in your dream indicates some aspect of you or something or someone that directly impacts you.” “The state or condition of the cat, the behaviour of the cat, how you connect with the cat, what you think and feel about the cat while in the dream, all these things will probably correlate to what is going on in your life right now,” says the dream interpreter.

According to Loewenberg, cats may also stand for closeness, so if you’re worried about something in your romantic life, cat dreams might be in store for you. Additionally, Loewenberg adds that if you have menstruation, your cat dreams may be connected to those feelings.

The meaning of the cat in your dream may also depend on what it is actually doing. According to Loewenberg, “the condition and behaviour of the cat in your dream will be identical to anything going on in your waking life.” “A missing cat might indicate that you sense something is lacking in terms of closeness. A lively cat may indicate that you are having a lot of fun in that area, however a biting or scratching cat may be your subconscious telling you that what you are doing might not be healthy. She believes that women who experience challenging PMS symptoms frequently have nightmares in which they bite or scratch cats.

What Do Dreams About Cats Mean?

Any variety of religious, mythological, or folkloric interpretations of cat symbolism, depending on your personal beliefs, might explain why a cat appeared in one of your dreams and what such an occurrence might indicate for you. The Egyptian divinity Bastet, for instance, was generally portrayed as part-cat; at times, her head was that of a lion, at other times, it was that of a domestic cat. Cats appear as symbols in a broad range of events and situations. She was revered as a goddess of fertility, dancing, music, and protection. In the meanwhile, cats have been associated with a variety of supernatural and folkloric phenomena in a wide range of civilizations, including sucking the breath from infants and bringing both good and bad luck.

You should think about your relationship to cats in real life in addition to your cat-related dreams, advises Loewenberg. “Do you avoid cats at all costs due to a severe cat allergy? Then the cat in your dream may stand in for a negative character or action in your life that you should steer clear of, she says. “Does a cat’s independent, distant character strike out to you? Consequently, the cat in your dream can symbolise your own need for freedom.

She also mentions that cats are known to fall on their feet every time. “If it’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a cat’s temperament, then the cat may stand in for your own capacity to emerge unscathed from adversity,” adds Loewenberg.

Basically, various people’s interpretations of cat dreams will vary, therefore your cat-lover status may influence the significance of your kitten nightmares.

Tips For Calming Your Cat’s Dreams

Tune into what’s happening in real life to try to change your sleep realm if your cat nightmares are making you uncomfortable. The easiest method to alter or terminate a distressing dream is to identify the problem it is related to and resolve it, since this will prevent the dream from recurring, according to Loewenberg. “When a dream disturbs or frightens you, consider what is happening in your waking life at the moment that triggers a similar feeling. What is the scariest or most distressing thing or person in your life at the moment? She says that your dream is attempting to aid you in processing this.

You could uncover the ideal metaphor for that sticky issue with your relationship or that conflict with your employer if you combine what cats represent to you in real life with what they do in your dreams. Work to solve those problems in the real world, and your dreams could start to feel less catty.