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Kneazles

Mrs. Norris, Crookshanks, & Mrs. Figg's Cats
By Daniel

UPDATE: J.K. Rowling has now confirmed that Crookshanks is half Kneazle.

    I’m sure many of you have heard about the theory that Mrs. Norris and a few other Harry Potter characters could be part-Kneazle. Well I am convinced that this is true and in this article I will present proof of why I believe Mrs. Norris, Crookshanks, and Mrs. Figg’s cats are all part-Kneazle.

    First we need to know exactly what a Kneazle is. According to the 52^nd edition of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them a Kneazle is:

“A small catlike creature with flecked, speckled, or spotted fur, outsize ears, and a tail like a lion’s, the Kneazle is intelligent, independent, and occasionally aggressive, though if it takes a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes an excellent pet. The Kneazle has the uncanny ability to detect unsavory or suspicious characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner to safely home if they are lost. Kneazles have up to eight kittens in a litter and can interbreed with cats.”

    After reading about the physical description of the Kneazle it should be obvious as to why Mrs. Norris is suspected as being part-Kneazle. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone Mrs. Norris is described as “a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes”. Mrs. Norris’s description and the Kneazle’s description don’t match up perfectly but they do have certain similarities. Because of the last line, “Kneazles have up to eight kittens in a litter and can interbreed with cats”, it could be said that Mrs. Norris’s appearance is a bit different that that of a Kneazle because one of her parents could have been a Kneazle and the other could have been a normal house cat. This also supports why Mrs. Norris doesn’t possess “a tail like a lions” which is the trademark of a pure Kneazle. Though it is not only Mrs. Norris’s physical appearance that makes us suspect that she could possess some Kneazle blood. As it says above, Kneazles can make excellent pets if they become accustomed to a human. Kneazles also seem be something along the lines of a living Sneakoscope. Does this not describe Mrs. Norris perfectly? Mrs. Norris is Filch’s one and only friend (as far as we know) and is very loyal to him. And you can always count on Mrs. Norris to turn up when someone is up-to-no-good and or planning mischievous acts. Remember that Mrs. Norris was petrified by the Basilisk in book 2 near Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom? Well what was she doing over there in the first place? Perhaps she “detected” the Basilisk (which is definitely an “unsavory character”) and rushed over to Myrtle’s bathroom to investigate… I think it’s fairly obvious that Mrs. Norris must be part-Kneazle.

    Although it is not mentioned in the description of the Kneazle, I believe that Kneazles possess some sort of special ability to communicate with humans and other characters. Mrs. Norris is constantly notifying Filch of the other student’s misbehaviors. And near the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Sirius specifically states that Crookshanks told him “Peter had left blood on the sheets” (Ron’s sheets). And Mrs. Figg’s cat, Mr. Tibbles, sure didn’t have any trouble warning her that Harry and Dudley were in trouble the night they were attacked by Dementors. I’m sure that the rest of Mrs. Figg’s cats are just as useful and intelligent as Mr. Tibbles.

    Going back to Crookshanks for a moment, we will remember the first encounter between this cat and Ron, Harry, and Hermione, which took place in the Magical Menagerie. While Ron was looking for something to improve Scabber’s seemingly decreasing physical health, he is attacked by Crookshanks. At first we may casually assume that Crookshanks is just an overly aggressive cat, but if we read closely we’ll realize that Crookshanks was attacking not Ron, but Scabbers. Crookshanks attacks Scabbers on several other occasions during the events of Book 3 and this may seem like a simple game of cat and mouse to us at first but it makes even better sense that Crookshanks is part-Kneazle and is trying to get rid of Scabbers who is later revealed to be a traitor and “unsavory character”.

    Undoubtedly Mrs. Norris, Crookshanks, and Mrs. Figg’s cats are not your everyday muggle cats. Perhaps we will learn more about these mysterious characters in future Harry Potter books, but until then, I think what you have just read is proof enough that there are several Kneazles taking part in this mysterious and magical Harry Potter series.