Vision of Spectral Cat

[mosaicmind]

I'm not sure which is the best sub-forum for this, but I will try here...

I'm looking for feedback or insight into an odd occurance that happened to me about three nights ago now.

To start, I'll give a little back-story. [I've shared this info on this forum before, but it's important contextually, so I'll share it again]

My cat, with whom I have a very strong spiritual bond, has been suffering from a very slow-growing form of thyroid tumor for three years now. He's been to five vets, including two specialized animal hospitals, and I've been told his condition is very rare. I've also been told that there is no treatment for his condition. He was given 1-3 months to live, but that was 11 months ago. He has declined very slowly over the past year, but still has a good quality of life. He's thin but not emaciated, and enjoys life although he is very low on energy. I've been doing regular healing meditation for him, and have also recieved a kind offer of distant Reiki healing from a member of this forum, which I was grateful to accept on my cat's behalf.

Anyway, that's his status and history. Now for the strange incident.

Most nights, my cat comes into my room to wake me up at some point, usually around 3 am, becuase he wants food. I don't usually wake up easily, so he jumps up on the bed and bites my hair to wake me up. Early this past Thursday morning, however, I woke up suddenly as he walked into the room.
I sleep with my room very dark, so I can't usually see much. However, when I opened my eyes, I saw very clearly what appeared to be the outline of a spectral cat walking across the surface of my desk towards me. It was like when you look at something very bright and then shut your eyes and you can still see the outline, except intstead of the usual reddish tint you would see through your eyelids, this was all a yellowish-green. And my eyes were open.
The cat was skeletal (extremely emaciated) larger than a typical housecat, seemed to have longish hair and ears, bright glowing eyes, and -- most disturbingly -- a dislocated jaw that hung open and at an angle. It was moving as well, not a static image, but appeared to be walking in place at a slouching pace, with its head hung low. For perspective, this image would have been three feet off the ground (level with the surface of the desk) and at right angles with the direction from which my cat himself was approaching. I blinked, as I would to clear my vision, and had to blink several times before the image faded. The whole "vision" lasted about 2 to 4 seconds, and except for this "apparition" the room was entirely dark. I know I was completely awake during the incident because my eyes were open and I was on my feet within seconds to go feed my cat. I did not feel any negativity or malevolence from the "vision," although it was disturbing in its representation of absolute ill-ness and "dis-ease." If it had been a human form with the same characteristics, I probably would have been terrified.

I was not dreaming about cats or anything related before waking. I'm also not prone to nightmares or sleep disturbances. I've had a few unusual experiences in the past, and they have all been, like this, either distict from regular dream states, or occured during a wakeful state.

Has anyone had a similar experience?
Does anyone have thoughts about what this experience might signify?
Was it just a remnant of my subconscious state manifesting as I woke in response to the to stimuli of my approaching cat?
Or could it be something more distinctly spiritual?

I'd appreciate any thoughts or knowledge that anyone would care to share.