Kneazle

Kneazle
Species information
Eye colour	Varies
Hair colour	Varies
Related to	Cat
Native to	Britain
Mortality	Mortal
Distinction	Cat-like, flecked, speckled or spotted fur, out-sized ears and a tail like that of a lion's Highly intelligent Uncanny ability to detect untrustworthy individuals Independent Sometimes aggressive Capable of guarding homes
Affiliation	Wizardkind
Ministry of Magic Classification	Beast XXX
Status	Extant

Ron Weasley: "What was that?"

Harry Potter: "It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger."

— Ron and Harry meet Crookshanks for the first time

A Kneazle is a magical beast related to, and similar in appearance to, a cat.

Description

Crookshanks, a Half-Kneazle and pet to Hermione Granger

They have spotted, speckled or flecked fur, large ears and a lightly plumed tail, akin to that of a lion's. They are thought to have separate breeds, like cats, and therefore vary in appearance. They make excellent pets if they like a witch or wizard. Kneazles can interbreed with normal cats, and generally have up to eight kittens in every litter. Kneazle owners are required to be licenced. Some people, both wizards and Squibs, make a living by breeding Kneazles or part-Kneazles, such as Arabella Figg. One notable Kneazle hybrid is Hermione Granger's half-Kneazle, Crookshanks, who was purchased by her from the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley in 1993, which is known to sell Kneazles.

Kneazle whiskers can be used in wand cores although they are said to make inferior wands when compared with Unicorn hair, Phoenix feather and Dragon heartstring.

Nature

An adult Kneazle

They have a very high level of intelligence, are independent and occasionally aggressive, and have an uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people. They can also safely guard their owners home. Because of their aggression towards certain individuals, Kneazles have an XXX classification by the Ministry of Magic, if they are not interbred with another species.

History

In 1832, wizard Abel Treetops of Cincinnati claimed to have patented a method of taming Wampus cats for use as guards over wizarding houses. Treetops was exposed as a fraud when MACUSA raided his home and found him putting Engorgement Charms on Kneazles.

Caught Kneazles on Care of Magical Creatures grounds

During the 1987–1988 school year, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn taught his fourth-year Care of Magical Creatures students about Kneazles. During the 1990–1991 school year, Jacob's sibling and Charlie Weasley practised catching Kneazles as a warm-up for their planned capture of a Wampus cat.

During the Calamity in the 2010s, several Kneazle Foundables were guarded by Fire-breathing chicken Confoundables, which appeared throughout the Wizarding world. Volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to liberate these Kneazles being provoked by these Fire-breathing chickens by using the Ebublio Jinx to trap the chickens and allow the Kneazle Foundables to return to their rightful place of origin.

Known kneazles and part-kneazles

Some Hogwarts students owned Kneazles as pets

Pure kneazles

• Hoppy
• Kneil
• Mauler
• Milly

Half-kneazles

• Crookshanks
• Mr Paws
• Mr Tibbles
• Snowy
• Tufty

Behind the scenes

A Kneazle in the Magical Menagerie in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• While their exact life expectancy is never stated, it is known that Hoppy, Milly and Mauler have lived with Newt and Tina from at least 1991 - 2017, at least 26 years, an age that would be considered very old if reached by a non-magical cat.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First identified as Kneazle)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Dimensions (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• J. K. Rowling's official site (Mentioned only)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned only)