Around the time Kino's cat disappears, what other creatures begins to show up outside of the bar and what do they symbolize?

Around the same time as Kino's cat disappears, snakes start to appear outside of his bar. He sees three different snakes in the yard inside of one week and recognizes that this phenomenon is not a normal one in Tokyo. The snakes, therefore, at first represent imminent danger and warning. However, once Kino calls his aunt and tells her about the snakes, she tells him that while snakes can be bad omens, they can also be guides. Kamita tells Kino the same thing and suggests that Kino go on a long trip. So by the end of the story, the snakes do indeed represent guidance, just as Kino had suggested.