Crookshanks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Harry Potter character | |
 Chapter illustration from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Mary GrandPré that depicts Crookshanks. |
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| Crookshanks | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Species | Cat/Kneazle |
| Owner | Hermione Granger |
| Special powers | Can Sense Animagi |
| First appearance | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
In the Harry Potter series, Crookshanks is the pet cat of Hermione Granger. Crookshanks is obtained in the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Crookshanks is described as having ginger fur, a bottle-brush tail and squat, bandy legs. He was also described as having a "smashed face," which was inspired by a real cat J.K. Rowling once saw that she said looked like it had run face first into a brick wall (probably a Persian). Hermione bought Crookshanks from a shop in Diagon Alley out of sympathy, as nobody wanted him due to his squashed-looking face. However, despite her less-than-ideal reasons for purchasing him, Hermione has grown incredibly close to her cat, as he has to her.
Crookshanks had a habit of trying to hunt down the pet rat of Ron Weasley, Scabbers. This caused a great deal of fighting between Ron and Hermione in the third book.
J.K. Rowling has confirmed that Crookshanks is part Kneazle, giving an explanation for his higher than normal cat intelligence and stature. Because of this, he noticed right away that Scabbers was really Peter Pettigrew and that a large black dog living on the school grounds was really Sirius Black. Sirius eventually got Crookshanks to trust him and sent him to bring Pettigrew to him, hence the reason the cat was always chasing after Scabbers. His Kneazle heritage gives him a strong dislike for cheating and lying, and he has been known to stare disapprovingly at Harry and Ron when they cheat on their homework, reminding them eerily of Hermione.
When Ron first got Pigwidgeon, he used Crookshanks to test if it was really an owl.
When Harry arrives at the Burrow in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, he is immediately alerted to Hermione's presence by that of Crookshanks's.
"Crookshanks" means "bent legs". The cat is described as bow-legged when we first meet him.
