Yes, he did know what she meant. Of course, that wasn't going to stop him from asking. While Catwoman wasn't necessarily a bad guy (at least, not all the time), she was still...dangerous. When she wanted to be. Los Angeles had enough problems without her adding to the chaos that was already present. And being that he - or rather, his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne - was personally heading the reconstruction movement for this city...he didn't want Catwoman's antics to get in the way of everything.
The less time he spent in LA, the better. Who knew what sort of havoc was errupting in Gotham in it's prince's absence - not to metion the Dark Knight.