If you are a woman who likes cats and one appears in your dream, this may be a manifestation of one of the positive aspects of the female principle: the mother, high priestess or Amazon archetype.
If you are a man, it may have been guiding your anima towards an appreciation of the feminine part of your personality. Your dream may also have been urging you to place more reliance on your instincts when dealing with a current situation.
If, however, you dislike cats or the cat in your dream is aggressive, then it suggests that you are having problems relating to the feminine aspect of yourself. The dream cat may have represented the more negative female archetypes of the terrible mother, siren huntress or witch. Or perhaps there is a deceitful woman in your life who is behaving cattily. Alternatively did your dream cat remind you of a pun? Are you feeling smug, like the cat who got the cream or were you being reminded that curiosity killed the cat?
If you see a cat with no tail in your dream, this signifies a loss of independence and lack of autonomy. To dream that a cat is biting or scratching you symbolizes the devouring female or perhaps you are taking and taking without giving. You may be expressing some fear or frustration, especially if something is not going as planned. Such a dream may also be a warning against treacherous people in your life or it may also represent a part of your personality that is crying out for love and attention.
If a cat is injured or killed in your dream, your dream may be a reference to the nine lives that cats enjoy. In this regard, your dream refers to the overcoming of numerous obstacles in your waking life; the resilience of the cat represents your own inner strength and tenacity. Generally, cats are symbolic of feminine power and independence, so if one appears in your dream, have you been feeling that these characteristics are not being expressed within yourself?
If you come across a cat in your dream and spend a great deal of effort trying to locate its owner, it could be because you are the owner of that ‘cat’. The cat is symbolic of a part of your inner self. The characteristics that cats represent can be understood by thinking about their ‘essence’, or the associations that we make when we think about cats. Cats are territorial animals. They are guardians of their space. They are also aloof and a part of them can never be domesticated. Culturally, there is a sexual connotation in regard to cats. Thus, in your dream you could have found that special part of yourself—the sexy, soft and curious you (the cat within). The trouble is you insist on giving it back to an elusive owner. Your dreaming mind may be urging you to claim what is rightfully yours
A cat will have several different meanings in your dream according to its color or the color it changes into. So, for example, to see a black cat in your dream suggests that you should trust your instincts or intuition more.
If you associate black or white cats with bad luck or misfortune, then to dream of them indicates your negative mindset (see COLORS).
If you dreamed of a cat in a cage this may be a reference to your own sense of crippled independence.
Kittens represent your inner child, playfulness and self-responsibility, so to dream about a kitten may mean that you need to take more time for yourself, have more fun, and nurture yourself and your sense of play more. According to dreamlore from the Middle Ages, it was unlucky to dream about cats because of their association with witchcraft. Prior to that, however, cats were sacred to the Egyptians as custodians of the souls of the dead.