I’m doing this as a favor to Michael as he enjoyed some of my comments to his original story Dreaming About Your Cat. I’ve been enlightened by the comments by some of the regular readers here. I now find I’m not alone in dreaming about cats I’ve had in the past who now reside on the Rainbow Bridge. I do seem to be the only one to comment on dreaming about cats I’ve never met.

THE STRANGE CAT DREAMS
I’ll be the first to admit those are some very strange dreams. Ruth had asked me whether the dreams are the type to leave me paralyzed as I have them. I know what she’s referring to, but that’s not the case with the strange cat dreams. I don’t have the dreams very often. I’m always very deep in sleep when they occur. For the record, I’ve been diagnosed with acute as well as chronic insomnia. This means I not only have a lot of trouble getting to sleep, I have trouble staying asleep.
In the dreams I’m most always outside in a country setting. The dreams are very lucid and the cat I’m dreaming of will communicate telepathically. And I do dream in color, at least while having the cat dreams. My emotions also run high in these dreams. I always feel so much love for the cat. I also recognize while I’m dreaming that this IS a dream, and that the cat will no longer exist when I wake up. It makes me sad and I try to stay asleep as long as possible to spend every moment I can with the dream cat.
Once I wake up, the dream stays with me permanently. They’re easy to recall, because there are some circumstances present in all of the dream. Some of these are:
- strange cat I’ve never had as a cat
- country setting, meaning no houses present in my dream
- these dreams are always in color
- extremely deep sleep is necessary for me to have them
MY SLEEP HISTORY
My dreams have been so vivid over the years, they make me afraid of sleep. I really don’t expect any improvement as I get older. My doctor has tried me on every new sleeping pill to come out and none of them kept me asleep for more than three hours before waking. I do admit the Ambien was interesting. I’d stay up and cook crock pot meals and not remember cooking. I did have some delicious new dishes to try that I made while under the influence.
I’m currently not on any medication to help me sleep. I take an Elavil each night to prevent migraines, but nothing else. I lay awake for hours most nights. Michael can back me up that I’m almost always awake. He’ll email me at 5 a.m. my time, and I return his email immediately.
GENETIC MEMORIES
Experts studying the subject claim we have memories of events experienced by our ancestors because genetic memories are built into our DNA. I’ve had a lot of strange experiences over the years with knowing things I shouldn’t know. This led me to do some research into genetic memories. I’m a firm believer in genetic memories to the point I’ve written several papers on the subject. Genetic memories explain what a lot of people call déjà vu. It’s also one possible explanation for talents a person is born with.
More that thirty years ago I was able to locate our ancestral home by canvassing the town they settled in. I located a large house that appeared a bit too familiar to shake off the feeling of familiarity. I traced the house back through land deeds and learned my great-great grandparents once owned the house.
MY EXPLANATION OF MY DREAMS
The only conclusion I’ve come from dreaming about cats I’ve never met is genetic memories. It’s quite possible I’m dreaming of a cat once loved by my great great grandmother. Or a distant aunt who’s been dead for a hundred years.
I welcome the cat dreams, even if they make me a little sad knowing I’ll only have a few hours in which to love my dream cat.
I can’t wait to see the comments on this one.
Marc, don’t you live in Switzerland? I’m sure there are spectacularly beautiful places there that rival anything Wisconsin has to offer. You just have to take the time. I work PRN so I often have days I don’t work, leaving time to get out and have fun. Some of my family can’t figure out why I don’t just work full time at one job and make more money. They think I’m lazy and unproductive. They are probably right. But when I do work, I work very hard and when I have time off I make sure to make it memorable.
Last night I dreamed of all the partially frozen streams I skied by yesterday. There was a woman in the dream in flowing robes with long hair and she was the spirit of the water and the ice flowing through the woods. It was a cool dream.
Noooo sane people are boring!I much prefer crazy lol