Crookshanks is the beloved pet cat of witch Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. He’s described as a large ginger cat with a squashed face, yellow eyes, bandy legs, and a ‘bottlebrush tail’.
Most do not regard Crookshanks as a handsome cat, though Hermione instantly falls in love with him and purchases him from a magical pet store. He turns out to be a great match for a clever witch like Hermione, as he’s highly intelligent and is great at solving puzzles that humans cannot see the answer to.
(The next sections contain spoilers for the book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so if you plan to read the book in the future, don’t read beyond this point!)
Crookshanks is likely part Kneazle, a breed of magical cat with the ability to detect when a person is being untruthful. This ability is seen during Crookshanks’ first appearance when he attacks Scabbers, a pet rat that belongs to Hermione’s friend Ron. It’s assumed that the attack is typical cat behaviour of chasing a rodent, but it’s later revealed that Scabbers isn’t a rat at all. He’s a wizard who transformed himself into a rat after committing several murders so that he could escape the punishment for his crimes. This shows why Crookshanks took an immediate dislike towards Scabbers the ‘rat’. Crookshanks also helps and protects the wrongfully convicted Sirius Black, who was framed for the murders. With Crookshanks’ help, Sirius Black is able to reveal his true innocence.
After this, Crookshanks wins over the affection of more than just Hermione. Even Ron, who previously despised the cat, turns to Crookshanks to make sure his new pet owl isn’t also concealing a hidden identity. Crookshanks remains a faithful companion to Hermione while she as at Hogwarts and he still keeps an eye out for suspicious activity, like students cheating on their homework.
Crookshanks is a fictional cat, but he reminds us of the intelligence of animals. Crookshanks proves that there is often ‘more than meets the eye’ that humans may not be able to pick up on. If you’d like to see more of this loveable and intelligent cat, be sure to check him out in the Harry Potter books or movies.
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