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

 

The Ancren Riwle, or Nun’s Rule, was the English rule for nuns written in about 1300. At first it was a rule for hermits but was soon revised to apply to all nuns. It is quite a strict and rigid rule but 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

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So we see the Nun’s rule permit he keeping of cats. It seems, though, the favoured pets of the nuns were dogs and other animals and it was this that caused problems to the visiting bishops. To quote Power:

To quote Power:

’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.’