the strange magnet

I wanted to write about a few strange things I saw last weekend, but of the three or so I can only remember one. As I finished my run last Friday evening, I saw two dark animal shapes on the sidewalk a few houses up from mine. A black and white medium-hair cat and a large pitch black rabbit, of almost equal size, appeared to be hanging out together.

I couldn't quite believe that one wasn't trying to chase the other, so I stopped to watch for a bit. The rabbit would hop over to the cat, which would stay still, crouching, or move quickly a little ways away. Then the rabbit would stay still and the cat would sneak closer, as cats do. After observing this for some time, I moved closer, trying to coax one of them into letting me pet it.

I knew that the house we were all in front of had once had two black rabbits in its large, chain-link-fenced front yard, and that one of them had escaped. As I got closer, the cat and rabbit ran under a parked car together. I walked on home and got Erik to come see the animals, but when we returned there were only a few people out, calling for the rabbit. I did see a dead squirrel on the sidewalk that I hadn't noticed before, right where both animals had been circling. Was the squirrel part of their crew?