Sometimes a friendly fireside companion, more often elusive and independent, the cat possesses an enigmatic appeal and unfathomable mystery, which have inspired writers poets, artists and craftsmen alike from the illuminations of the Lindisfarne Gospels to Rudyard Kipling.

Cats in Egypt were probably domesticated by around 4000 BC from wild ancestors. Over the following centuries, they became popular household pets and are regularly shown in tomb paintings of family life. This volume draws on artistic and written sources to show how they became widely-esteemed and revered animals in Egypt.

A survey of the cat and its 7,000-year relationship with mankind. Using illustrations drawn mainly from the British and Natural History Museums, this book looks at the different roles cats have played in human life and how modern breeds have evolved from the original wild cat.

The Gayer-Anderson Cat has been one of the most admired objects at the British Museum since its arrival in 1947. This book presents a detailed description of the cat and a discussion of its possible meaning and role in ancient times. Surprising new finds from scientific analyses are presented for the first time, shedding light on the cats somewhat traumatic modern history, from its acquisition by the British Army major and avid antiquities collector John Gayer-Anderson to its donation to the British Museum. The fascinating narrative is complemented by outstanding new photography.

'Louis Wain invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world'. Broadcast in 1925 by H.G. Wells, these words characteristically foretold the future of the Wain cat which has, once more, become the century's most recognisable image in cat art. During their heyday, in the time before the First World War, Louis Wain's cats, dressed as humans, portrayed that stylish Edwardian world having fun: at restaurants and tea parties, going to the Race and the Seaside, celebrating at Christmas and Birthdays, and disporting themselves with exuberant games of tennis, bowls, cricket and football. This is a titillating world of cats at play, uninhibited and slightly dangerous, with most group activities likely to turn into mishap, mayhem and catastrophe. This is Wain's world, funny, edgy and animated: a whole cat world. The first comprehensive exhibition of Wain's work was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1972 and, since then, Louis Wain has steadily become more fashionable, and collected worldwide. This biography contains 300 plates of richness and variety, all of which are reproduced faithfully from the original artwork. This book is jointly published by Chris Beetles Ltd and Canongate Books.