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It seems that a cat would be a bad match for Hermione as a pet. Cats are playful and very disruptive, from my experience. NOT a good pet for a studious person with their head always in the books.

Of course Crookshanks was integral to the plot and ended up not being a simple cat, so she had to pick him. But it seems such an unlikely choice for her to make, compared to a toad or an owl.

Silver Fox
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    Kittens, yes. Crookshanks wasn't a kitten. Older cats generally keep to themselves more, especially if they didn't grow up around their owners. Most of Crookshanks odd behavior was because he was part Kneazle. – Gabe Willard Sep 07 '12 at 04:47
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    Ron: "You bought that monster?" Hermione: "He's gorgeous, isn't he?" (PoA). She chose him because he looked cute. Where'd the cool and logical Hermione go? :) – DVK-on-Ahch-To Sep 07 '12 at 04:53
  • Also, right before, he tried to attack Scabbers. So may be she bought him as an anti-rat guard cat. Medieval wizarding world probably has rat problems. – DVK-on-Ahch-To Sep 07 '12 at 04:55
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    DVK: she's logical and knows it's the cat that chooses the human, not the other way. Crookshanks jumped and thus chose her. – b_jonas Sep 09 '12 at 07:33
  • @GabeWillard How do you know he's part Kneazle? – 11684 Sep 11 '12 at 15:01
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    @11684 I believe that was revealed on JK Rowlings website a while back. She is in the process of moving all of that information over to Pottermore now, so it is unavailable at the moment. Throughought PoA, they strongly hint that Crookshanks is more than just a normal cat, however. – Gabe Willard Sep 12 '12 at 17:57
  • She spends summers with Muggles. A teenage girl with a toad, rat, owl, etc, is going to attract more attention than one with a fluffy cat. It might make her parents a bit more comfortable as well. – Geobits Jul 15 '14 at 20:14
  • @11684 about the cat being part Kneazle, see http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/148408/4918 "Is it ever revealed what Crookshanks is?" – b_jonas Jan 24 '17 at 09:53

1 Answers1

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The answer is clear if you just re-read Prisoner of Azkaban chapter 4, where Hermione gets Crookshanks. Hermione has made a quick decision to buy him because she liked him, and this was partly out of pity.

‘[…] Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages: no one wanted him.’

Cats can be disruptive if you don't want them, sure, but Hermione does want to spend time with a pet and can handle him, so it didn't disrupt her much. And many indoor type geek persons seem to have a cat in real life, even though it does occasionally disrupt them.

b_jonas
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