The fireside sphinx

The animal in question is the pet cat and this book is a history of the cat in Western literature. The author tells us that it was not until the story of Noah that a cat appeared in literature. The ark was so overrun with mice and rats that Noah passed his hand over a lion's head, who sneezed out a cat. From representations in Egyptian hieroglyphics of 6000BC to the time of writing the cat has been a constant companion to many literary figures.