When animals show up in dreams, pay attention

Last night I dreamed I was selling the house in which I’d been born to an acquaintance. Everything was cleared out and I was ready to go but a problem showed up, an infestation. A tiny herd of tiny kittens and zebras—each no more than two inches long—was galloping through the house. They were coming from the attic, where I knew more critters must be breeding. I was in a hurry to leave but I would have to call the exterminators. This disturbed a young animal-loving friend who was helping me move. She went into the attic to try to save the creatures but I pulled her away so we could get on with the extermination and evacuate the house.

Awake, I didn’t much like the person I had been in the dream. I didn’t like my rush to sell out the family home, override the animal lover, and stamp out those cute little creatures. 

In the dream the animals were a small though fast-multiplying problem. Might they instead be a gift? And perhaps I am in danger of passing up that gift in my haste to “move on” from my ancestral past.

I believe each of us has a personal dream language in which objects, people, and animals carry associations unique to us. But nothing came up for me around zebras, and, while I do like my cat, these rambunctious tiny gray kittens (yes, this was a herd of black, white, and gray-striped critters) had little in common with my languorous orange Lalo.

So I googled “zebra spirit animal” and “cat spirit animal” and found intriguing explanations here and here.

“When the zebra comes into your life, change is signified in one or more areas of your life and hidden knowledge will be uncovered. Stand strong, develop trust and simply flow with the rhythm of a new creation.”

“If cat appears in your life the blending of magic and mystery is close by. . . . The cat teaches us that the physical and spiritual worlds are not separate, but one, and is a good assistant for meditation. A resourceful, strong and fearless spirit guide lending you courage and confidence. Examine the colours, character and behaviour of the cat that has entered your life. Everything about it will be mirrored in your own life.”

Waking, this dream is acquiring an entirely different meaning from the night sense. What seemed like a problem may in fact have been a great gift, which I almost killed.

I’ll take those kittens and zebras, thank you very much, Dreamgiver. I’ll take whatever feral liveliness is breeding in the dark reaches of my origins. Let mystery, magic, and creativity flourish.