*NOOB STAMP*
Ho-oh is in no way a peacock, and Pokémon are not all based on real animals. Deoxys, anyone? Back to the whole phoenix matter, they originated in Egypt as you said, but they didn't have peacocks there. More likely it was based on a flamingo or heron or something.
Furthermore, Raikou is quite clearly a tiger, Entei is more dog-like and Suicune is more like a horse-ish thing. To call them all dogs or cats or gerbils is just incorrect. No official source has ever called them dogs or cats. The best bet is to call them beasts, or simply Pokémon.