How do You know your spirit animal, I have always thought mine to be a wolf, as I love to hunt, but these days not so much hunting, so I am not sure, once I had a gray cat looking at me in a dream, it was in a glass cage, maybe asking me to free it, I am not sure.

I'm not sure there's a clear way to find out, tribes probably had different traditions. Here is my take though.

You don't choose it, it comes to you, rarely in real life, often in a dream. I'de imagine that you could also include through transe or from being in a sweat loge for a long time.

If you saw squirrels all day and then you dream of squirrels, it doesn't qualify, that's called dreaming about your day.

The dream has to feel like it comes unexpectedly, it usually includes symbolism since the animal will have a message to give you, usually pertaining to your life-arch lesson.

The symbolism is best understood under the context of that animal's behavior. For example, if you dream of a fox with a paw stuck in a box-shaped trap, the message would probably be: yes you have the temperament of a fox and managing your curiosity will be your main challenge in life.

I'm not 100% sure but it's not unusual for these dreams to be recurring, mine came 4 times on a cycle of 4 year