Interesting, it's possible that just reporting and talking about your dreams may have helped you make progess (or else it's a coincidence.) Keeping a diary has helped me organize and structure my emotions too.
One possibility is that this cat represents sleep itself, possibly as a mystery. It just blinked, as if you slept and awakened. Whenever this cat appears you are soon to awaken. Perhaps you have misplaced feelings about sleep itself, and mystery drives you to wake up.