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Original poster

Recurrent nightmares about long-dead pets!

55 replies

ChoccyJules · 22/10/2021 09:45

Does anyone else get these?

Last night I dreamt we were far away on holiday and had forgotten to arrange for someone to feed the cat. Cat in question died several years ago.

I also have a recurring dream where I discover either a filthy cage of starving guinea pigs in our childhood garage or the hamster I had in my teens clinging to life in its cage having been ignored for weeks. Obviously in real life they‘d be dead but they are always just hanging on. The worst bit of the dream is having to go in and look. I assume it’s my brain worrying about coping with stuff?!

OP posts:
nostaples · 22/10/2021 11:07

I thought I was the only one to have these. Mine often involve small animals like hamsters and mice breeding uncontrollably and not knowing what to do with all the babies. Neglect also features. Some sort of response to guilt/ anxiety maybe? Maybe a childhood thing about the first time having responsibility for another life or the recognition of mortality. Weird. But like yours mine are powerful and recurring.

Afoxtail · 22/10/2021 11:13

Yes I have these too. It’s always some terrible guinea pig situation of them breeding and starving and the the pen being in a terrible state with decomposed corpses and some of them are miraculously still alive.

RubaiyatOfAnyone · 22/10/2021 11:25

Oh god, yes i have these - even about imaginary pets I’VE NEVER OWNED.
Nightmares repeatedly where i realise that i got hamsters and then forgot about them and have just discovered them suffering. I have never had hamsters. We have two cats who make it known loudly and repeatedly if they go longer than 3 hours between Felix pouches.

In not unrelated news, i have just emailed the GP about my general anxiety…

Original poster
ChoccyJules · 22/10/2021 21:27

That’s them, exactly as I would describe them!

OP posts:
Original poster
ChoccyJules · 22/10/2021 21:28

Funny thing is I have never seen them on one of those ‚explain your dreams‘ websites!

OP posts:
SoftSheen · 22/10/2021 21:30

I have this too! I dream that I haven't fed my rabbits for weeks. In reality, my rabbits died 25 years ago, having lived long, well-cared for lives.

PfizerMinnelli · 22/10/2021 21:33

I'm wondering if you have current responsibilites you worry about? Or something going on that is triggering a guilt about a responsibilty?

RosieCockle · 22/10/2021 21:34

Me too. My gerbils. Their cage isn't cleaned out or they haven't got food or water.
I know I lost a bit of interest in them as I grew older but I never ever neglected them. I couldn't do that.

dogsrock15 · 22/10/2021 21:36

I have these dreams a lot! there horrible.

apricotdreams · 22/10/2021 21:37

Wow. I have this as a recurring dream. It's awful. I dream that I have left the guinea pigs in their cage in the garage and that I had forgotten they were there. Then I feel absolute fear and dread when I realise months later and go and check. They are always just about alive and I then throw loads of food in the cage. It's really disturbing. How weird that others have this.

Nitgel · 22/10/2021 21:39

I have rabbits and often dream about having too many rabbits and I can't look after them well. Its awful! Glad its not just me

Carolinesyear · 22/10/2021 21:40

I have these dreams too, but they are actually night terrors so I actually wake up and look for the animal I forgot about, I dream of nests of neglected baby animals in my chest of drawers.
I also have night terrors about going to bed after having left guests in the house alone, I wake in a panic about having neglected them!

cafedesreves · 22/10/2021 21:41

Omg yes. Dogs dying of starvation and breeding rabbits in dirty cages.

MyHairNeedsASnip · 22/10/2021 21:44

Oh! I've had these dreams too! I did find something on a dream website one time, because it was happening so often and I found it really disturbing so I tried to find out what it was linked to. I'll see if I can find it again.

MacMahon · 22/10/2021 21:45

I have these too. There are two themes my brain enjoys choosing from. One is that my beloved dogs are back alive but I know that I haven’t fed them in ages (because I haven’t) and I’m beset with grief and horror at myself. The other is that I discover a horse in the garden shed that I’d completely forgotten I had and it’s in a terrible state. Again, I’m horrified at my neglect.

I have looked these up in the middle of the night. I seem to remember them being about an aspect of your life that you’ve been neglecting.

sarahc336 · 22/10/2021 21:47

Oh my god I have this about my rabbit I had when i was little. I'll dream that I'll suddenly remember she's alive and I've not fed her for weeks etc. I thought it was just me 😂

Blackmagicqueen · 22/10/2021 21:49

Op I could have written your post! I thought I was the only one to have dreams like this. I feel so guilty in the dream too and awful when I wake up. I haven’t had the reoccurring dream for a while so I’m hoping I don’t have it again!

Mykittensmittens · 22/10/2021 21:52

Not sure I can entirely resolve the worry but I can say I studied psychology and my main studies were on sleep science.

For the most part you just need to think about dreams like this logically. They are probably the subconscious saying you have a responsibility and you then have a fear of failing that responsibility. It’s that simple. It could display as animals,
Children, pets, whatever. The subconscious creates this fear for a reason; so you won’t neglect the real responsibilities you do have. It’s no more complex than that. It’s like brain training.

MacMahon · 22/10/2021 21:53

I feel so guilty in the dream too and awful when I wake up

Yes, deep and heart wrenching.

anunseemlylovefordustin · 22/10/2021 21:53

I've had these on and off since I was a teenager! Dreaming that I had a shed full of various pets (chickens, rabbits etc) in cages and had forgotten about them, then remembering and finding them all half dead and being so guilt stricken and panicked. I'm sort of glad it's not just me 😆

ilovesooty · 22/10/2021 21:56

I have these dreams too.

MaverickDanger · 22/10/2021 21:59

Yep me too, about my rabbit. It really upsets me when I wake up.

Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel · 22/10/2021 22:10

This thread is a huge help. I don't know anyone else who has this.

I could have written some of these posts! It's so disturbing. The same for me, real pets and imagined ones. The panic and guilt is overwhelming. I too throw loads of food and fill containers of water in. Sometimes , rarely, it's fish but mainly rabbits, hamsters, rats and Guinea pigs.

Sometimes it's past pets that visit. Usually dogs and cats and I know they're dead, but I am so pleased to see them and then they disappear.

AuntMasha · 22/10/2021 22:10

I have these awful dreams quite regularly about forgetting to feed my beloved cat (now deceased) and suddenly realising that it’s been a month or so since I last fed him. I return to my former home, he’s not there and then I go outside and begin calling his name. Really upsetting.

MimsyBorogroves · 22/10/2021 22:13

Yeo, Guinea pigs. Always my Guinea pigs. I'd forgotten to clean and feed them.

I thought I was the only one.

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