Pets in a dream are familiar habits. Food in a dream is knowledge. If your habit is getting the knowledge you need just before it is too late then this dream is that idea. Do you put things off until the last minute? Do you wait until it is almost too late to fix something? Have you been denying that you do this for a long time and it continues to happen, yet when opportunities fly by and you try desperately to catch up with them, you still procrastinate after you've seen what it has caused in the past? The dream may also be a habit of giving away knowledge only after you feel it is past its time to be given. Holding onto something longer than you should have so the recipient is more thankful than they would have been if you produced it right on cue. Many people appear to be in total disarray when they are more than on top of things. I would say this dream is suggesting one or the other. Many woman do this to gain control, to seem weak so they can gauge the strength of another individual. To see what actions they would take to handle the situation without your intervention. The whole playing weak in the position of strength thing. Most of the time it is done to gain sympathy even though there is no cause for it in your direction, rather than the lack of attention one may feel they are not receiving. This is what Freud and Jung would have assumed from that little instant of a dream you've described anyway. Not seeing how you interact with people I can only point you in a direction which may shed some light on this "habit".

Its isn't letting me post another comment...so here is the balance of the dream. I am going about my everyday business quite happily and don't even remember that I have this pet. When I come across it in that state, I am devastated and wake up crying. It shakes my whole day.

What do you mean "help" ? All you see is a stupid dream while hundreds of people die in Africa of starvation and you ask help about a dream you see...

Sounds to me, psychologically speaking, rather than the dream-woo speaking, like you are worried that you are neglecting something/someone that you feel needs you. It maybe you expressing a sense of rightly or wrongly felt guilt.

I posted this question a number of days ago. I was talking to someone who had an interesting thought. They said that a pet represents unconditional love, and that I have been starving my love, I haven't been giving it freely and been hiding away, not taking care of myself.

It sounds like you are very busy, stressed, and wondering if you can keep up with all your responsibilities or if you are neglecting some important things.

To me it sounds as maybe you take a lot more pride in your busy day to day then others around you do. And the issues you deal with are very important, that any slip up could cause some real hurt to those that depend on you. Of course in your dream you are involved in your day and things are going fine and then you happen on that one thing that may not be out of your control but suffered from your neglect. What I get from this is that your job is very important to others and although you are very good at what you do, you know that your still human and mistakes do happen. The neglected cat is a person you have yet to let down. It is good you played this out in such a way that you can see not all hope is lost and are able to correct and bring the cat back to health. This shows that deep in your mind you know that you can pretty much fix it but your unaware as to the cost.

it means your smothering somebody and there putting up with it..subcontiously you know it,,,you just gotta wake up and chill out a bit