Cats show up—on average—in about 5% of the remembered dreams, which are very positive, much more so than dreams in general, or dog dreams, indicating that waking-life experiences with cats are also mostly positive

Schredl, M., Bailer, C., Weigel, M. S., & Welt, M. S. (2021). Dreaming about cats: An online survey. Dreaming, Sep 2021. https://doi.org/10.1037/drm0000176

Abstract: Cats have lived with humankind for millennia, and one would expect—according to the continuity hypothesis of dreaming—that cats also show up in dreams, more often when the relationship is between the cat and a human is closer, for example, when she or he is a cat owner. Previous studies showed that the percentage of dreams that included cats ranges from 0.4% to 2%, but studies relating waking-life experiences with cats with dreams about cats have not been carried out. In total, 1,695 persons (960 women, 735 men; mean age: 53.84 ± 13.99 years) completed an online survey that included questions about dreams and waking-life experiences with cats. The findings indicate that cats show up—on average—in about 5% of the remembered dreams, but the percentage is much higher in cat owners or persons with a close contact to cats. Interestingly, the cat dream percentage was lower compared to the dog dream percentage, elicited in a previous study. Moreover, proximity during sleep and whether the cat stays in the household is also related to a higher percentage of dreams that include cats. Cat dreams are very positive, much more so than dreams in general, indicating that waking-life experiences with cats are also mostly positive. A small percentage of participants indicted that they had negative experiences with cats in the past; this is related to the frequency of dreams with threatening cats. The results support the continuity hypothesis, and it would be very interesting to conduct content analytic studies with dream samples obtained from pet owners to learn more about the variety of interactions between dreamers and their pets as they are reflected in dreams.