The cat owl is a hybrid creature that lives in the forests of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation,[1] though it can also be kept as a pet.[2] It preys on mice and other small rodents and has a distinctive meow-hoot that is considered to be one of the most bizarre sounds made by an animal.[3]

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History

While searching for information about Appa's whereabouts, Team Avatar and Joo Dee entered a pet shop in Ba Sing Se. A cat owl was among the animals for sale, and the creature scared Momo away from its food bowl when the lemur began eating from it.[2]

Later, when Hama brought Katara into a forest outside a Fire Nation village at night, a wild cat owl was perched on a branch high in the trees.[1]

During the invasion of the United Republic of Nations, a pet cat owl named Nibbles became separated from her owner. Avatar Korra and Meelo used Naga a toy with her scent to track the pet and found her grooming herself in a tree. Nibbles startled when Meelo, yelling her name, launched himself strait at her and retreated into an abandoned building, where it was discovered that a man named Jobal had been taking care of her and several other pets that had gotten lost during the evacuation process. After convincing Jobal to come to the evacuee camp, Nibbles was returned to her owners.[4]

Anatomy

The cat owl has the head and tail of a cat, along with the wings and body of an owl. Its head, torso, and paws are covered in fur, which is slate gray on its dorsal sections and creamy white on its ventral sections. The feathers of its wings and tail are gray as well. Its eyes are commonly green.[2]

Connection

The cat owl's coloration and its facial appearance resemble those of a great horned owl, an animal that is sometimes nicknamed the "cat owl" due to its furred, feline tail.

Trivia

Superstition has it that running across a cat owl is bad luck. [3]

The Chinese word for owl ( 猫头鹰 ) literally translates into "cat-headed eagle".

) literally translates into "cat-headed eagle". The phrase "two cat owls, one stone" is the Avatar equivalent of the idiom "[killing] two birds [with] one stone".[5]

References