Dreams about neglected animals ... what are they all about?

Glad I'm not the only one I've been having the same dreams for years

I had this dream again last night. Guinea pigs not being fed again. I was quite upset about stuff with my son yesterday (he's upset about some friends) so I can understand why I had a bad dream.

I'm always dreaming of having pet rodents and forgetting I have them and some or all die of starvation and neglect, it's awful as I'm such an animal lover yet in the dream I'm like oh well let's save what we can kinda attitude. What could it mean ?

If there's one thing that I can't cope with it's animal neglect; that's why I often dream about it. I think it's the brain's way of processing some of the awful things we see online.

I have regular dreams that I'm responsible for hundreds of cats, that keep multiplying. I'm trying to find my own cats amongst them all and they all keep running away. And some have horrible deformities! It's a classic anxiety dream. About worrying that your failing in your responsibilities to yourself and others.

Wow it is soo interesting to hear others saying they have the “secret/extra spaces” dreams too! Thank you for sharing @JMSA

My partner does have recurring dreams about houses too, but whatever the variation of house is, there is someone trying to get in but the locks on the doors and things don’t work. He had an abusive childhood so I think it stems from unresolved trauma.

I never really believed there were proper meanings to dreams until I had these ones in adulthood/as a mother.

the rooms are the same - sort of an annex off a short corridor. No one has specifically told me not to use them and they usually have more / better facilities than the part of the house I’m comfortable in, but they feel very “off” and threatening. I’ve been there so often I think “Oh, here I am again!” in my dream.

I've had these dreams all my life!! I go through a door and there is a big room, almost like a church or barn that's in a terrible state of repair and spooky/threatening. Since I've retired now and the people who've caused problems in my life/restricted me are all dead or gone I feel more relaxed than ever and the dreams have stopped. I wonder if it was me subconsciously trying to find some time/space for myself but afraid of doing so. The dreams were so vivid and so repetitive. I feel like I know that room so well I can smell it.

When I had a dog I had recurring dreams that she was loose or lost and I was desperately trying to find her or rescue her from busy roads.

I sometimes have the pets dream, mine is always cats as I’ve had cats all my life. It’s always about not being able to keep them safe, them escaping and not being able to get them back home. I think it’s really about keeping myself safe, and the cats are a proxy.

I had hamsters as a child but I have never dreamed about them at all.

I used to often have the ‘forgotten to study for an exam’ dream but nowadays it's been replaced by the ‘forgotten to prepare for guests who have just arrived’.

I’ve had the ‘secret room/s in my house’ dream too, as another poster said I go down a corridor and there they are. I don’t feel uneasy about them, just interested, it does seem to be about about accessing another part of yourself.

This is such an interesting thread. And good point about whether men have these type of dreams - I wonder.

Just to throw this in there- after 2 weeks of recurring dreams very similar to yours, I found out I was pregnant. Probably just a coincidence, but worth a thought.

I often have these kind of dreams- usually I have pet Guinea pigs that have bred, and I've left them to starve in a filthy cage, when I eventually go out to them, some are dead, and some are alive but very poorly, I often wondered why I had these dreams

I had a really nasty one like this about my dog who had somehow been stolen and taken to a festival type thing and half skinned and had her two back legs broken. I found her tied up but she was desperate to get away from me and even though I didn't remember hurting her in the dream she was clearly terrified of me and I felt I should have protected her better. I actually woke up sobbing and can still remember the feeling of the dream about 8 months later. I do think it has something to do with self care - I am also a single mum and my friend at the time wasn't very well, dd going through a lot at school and I was trying to help my dad be a functioning adult. I don't have any other family and no one has looked after me since my 20's when my mum died. Usually this doesn't affect me but at that point in time I was suffering with physical health issues as well and I wasn't paying attention to some alarming issues in my own body. I'd say to assume it is your dream projection of yourself because we tend to personify our pets to humanise them, so it would make sense for you to put your own traits subconsciously into your image of your pet. I would start by making a GP appt for any niggles you have overlooked in your health. I kept thinking I just needed to get through the next bit but actually ended up in hospital in a very serious state for something that could have been discovered by a blood test years ago. If nothing else get some bloods for vitamin/iron levels.

I mean I'm sorry people have this dream too because it feels awful! I'd love to know how many men have this dream of if it's a women/mother thing?

I have a recurring dream about forgotten animals too. The animal varies, sometimes it’s a hamster, sometimes fish, ferrets or one time a horse.

I’m trying to work out what the dream means by thinking about the feelings I get when I have it and afterwards. For me, I am calm/ oblivious, then panic when I remember the animal, false hope when I think they may be alive then devastation, guilt and shame when I realise what has happened.

I haven’t quite worked out whether for me this means that I fear my detachment from others/ the external world (I live in my head a lot, am very introverted) will harm others in ways I will regret later. It could just mean I am scared or overwhelmed with all the responsibilities in my life and fear dropping the ball in a devastating way. There is definitely something about a lack of self-trust and regret for me. A fear of actions being unfixable.

I'm so pleased others have this kind of dream! I used to, but hardly ever now my kids are older, I'm in a happier relationship where the load is shared, life is nice and I've stopped focussing on, and let myself off the hook of a lot of historical things - I do think they were an indication of the burden of responsibility I carried for the kids (that no one else seemed to share)

Oh goodness I thought it was just me who had these.... I've had recurring dreams (nightmares) for years where I have realise I have abandoned rabbits or fish. Miraculously they're always still alive but it is the worst feeling in my dreams. I had no idea it was this common!

I've had variations of this dream for decades. Usually hamsters (I used to keep hamsters when I was younger). Usually I remember I had a hamster or two, I go to check them confused how I've forgotten and it turns out they've had loads of babies, all of them are starving and I'm now trying to save them. The worst version I had was shortly after my dad died (I did quite a lot of his care), where I had forgotten he was alive and now he was starving. Thanks brain!

Secret/new rooms in your house could be about parts of yourself that you are discovering - new ones that signal growth or forgotten/threatening ones that you have repressed and are uncomfortable with but your subconscious is telling you are important.

I have had a similar dream fairly often but mine is always about fish, several fish tanks that I have forgotten about. Not had it for a while thankfully.

Difference is, that the previously undiscovered space makes me feel uneasy on entering.

I’ve had this recurring dream for 30 years or so! I call it the Big House Dream. There are a couple of versions of the house but the rooms are the same - sort of an annex off a short corridor. No one has specifically told me not to use them and they usually have more / better facilities than the part of the house I’m comfortable in, but they feel very “off” and threatening. I’ve been there so often I think “Oh, here I am again!” in my dream.

The neglected pet one was briefly taken over by dreams I’d forgotten about DS when he was a baby, then went back to pets.

I definitely have this one - usually rodents (hamsters, mice etc) all of which I have kept as pets in the past. I have such feelings if horror and guilt in my dream for forgetting about them/not feeding them/letting them escape. My therapist always thought it was something to do with neglecting vulnerable parts of myself/my feelings. Interesting that another pp has ADHD as I have this too.

And I have the 'secret spaces' dreams too - usually it's an entire apartment I've somehow forgotten I own! My house is a bit of a state and I have way too much stuff which I am slowly trying to tidy/get rid of, would be so interesting to see if these dreams go away if I manage to sort it all out.

Yes! I have that one too, either can't reach or nothing happening if I can. It was my most recurring dream at one stage. Thankfully not so much these days but that's probably because I can't sleep much at the moment.