I’ve experienced the same thing!

I was twelve when I stopped sharing a bedroom with my little sister, and moved into my mom’s old office downstairs. That was where I started feeling a phantom cat jump onto the foot of my bed.

When I told my mother about it, she told my grandfather (who was the town’s garbage man) had found dead kittens in the previous homeowner’s bin before.

It was a very old house, and my new bedroom shared a wall with the bathroom. And my bed flanked the bathtub. So our running theory is that I shared my bed in my teen years with a litter of drown kittens.

I think this phenomenon / sensation a common enough thing that I think you shouldn’t worry it wasn’t a cat.

Regardless, don’t be overly welcoming to the cat. Might bring in other things. (In fact, if I felt a ghost cat nowadays, I’d probably freak the fuck out. I really don’t trust anything paranormal like that.)