Kuro is a black cat with large ears which follows Kanako Urashima. It first appears in book 11 in the manga, and in the Love Hina Again Episode 1. It becomes friends with Tamago Onsen. Kaolla Su is very interested in researching it and Sarah McDougal calls him "witch cat" after knowing about Kuro's unusual abilities to fly (using its oversized ears) and talk. In the anime, Kuro can talk, but in the manga, Kuro uses Kanako's ventriloquism. It carries a bell on its tail, which sounds as characteristic when Kanako appears.
Ken Akamatsu explained in his notes in Volume 14, page 148 that Tamago Onsen , Kuro, Shippu, and Leon were inspired by the "Four Legendary Animals of Japanese Mythology". Tamago Onsen was inspired by Genbu, Kuro by Byakko, Shippu by Suzaku, and Leon by Seiryuu. In the anime television series, Kuro is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka in Japanese and Sandy Fox in English.