It tried to attack Peter Pettigrew by sensing "it" as evil. I doubt a real-life cat will try to protect it's owner from a threat he is naive about. What is the extent of its magic (it sensed Peter as more than a rodent) and intelligence (its peristent)?
asked Dec 16, 2015 at 15:41
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2Notably her cat is not a cat but a cat/Kneazle hybrid.– ValorumDec 16, 2015 at 15:45
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You clearly don't have a cat of your own. Even without the magical hybridization, a cat will protect its own if it cares enough about them.– user40790Dec 16, 2015 at 17:25
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2 Answers
Crookshanks is half-Kneazle and quite intelligent as a result.
On a page from her old website, JK Rowling described Crookshanks as “unusually intelligent”, and confirmed long-held fan suspicions that Crookshanks wasn’t just a cat:
When I decided to give Hermione an unusually intelligent cat I gave him the appearance of this haughty animal, with the slightly unfair addition of bandy legs.
Crookshanks, as anybody who has read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will have guessed, is half Kneazle.
The entry for Kneazle in Fantastic Beasts includes a reference to their intelligence, and the sentence I’ve highlighted was the basis of theories of his hybrid nature:
A small, cat-like 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 an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are lost.
The exact details – why are Kneazles such good dark detectors – isn’t addressed in canon; we’re just told that they are, and no more.
answered Dec 16, 2015 at 23:18
Quoting from The Harry Potter Lexicon:
Crookshanks is part Kneazle (Nr), which accounts for his unusual intelligence and his ability to identify suspicious characters, most notably Pettigrew when disguised as Scabbers (PA). But he also recognizes and disapproves of cheating, judging by the way he stared at Harry and Ron when they were making up answers on their Divination homework (GF14).
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This sounds more like guesswork on lexicon's part than firm canon facts. They make far further inferences than warranted by raw canon. Now, if Pottermore said that... Dec 16, 2015 at 21:17
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@DVK Last I checked, Pottermore had started considering the movies canon. I think I'll stick with the Lexicon.– ibidDec 18, 2015 at 4:05
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@DVK the old Pottermore was one thing, but the new one has no understanding of canon that makes sense. They quote facts from the movie alongside the books as if they both coexist. Kind of like Wikia.– ibidDec 18, 2015 at 15:41