Cats appear as corbels around the abbey more often than any subject, possibly because they were popular pets with the nuns.

 

The Ancren Riwle, or Nun’s Rule, was written about 1300. At first it applied to hermits but was soon revised to apply to all nuns.

 In part 8, ‘On Domestic Matters’ we read:

‘You shall not possess any beast, my dear sisters, except only a cat.’

      source:- http://www.all-creatures.org/ca/ark-209-2.html

So the keeping of cats was permitted, however, the favoured pets were dogs and other animals and it was this that caused problems to the visiting bishops.

To quote Power:

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’Monkeys, squirrels and rabbits were also kept, but dogs and puppies abounded…partly because human affections will find an outlet under the most severe rules. The nuns clung to their small hounds and Archbishop Peckham had to forbid the Abbess of Romsey from keeping monkeys and a number of dogs in her own chamber". Click image to enlarge