Stand Off

When we first got our rabbit, we were very worried about the cat. Although he was the smallest cat in the neighborhood, he dominated our end of the block – no other cats dared enter our yard. And he routinely dragged prey larger than himself through our cat door to finish them off in the comfort of home.

We introduced the cat to the rabbit through the safety of bars, but we didn’t need to worry. Maybe it was because the cat was getting on in years. But we had this initial standoff in which he deeply considered the options. Then he seemed to decide:

The new thing is not a cat.

The new thing is not a threat.

The new thing is not prey.

The new thing does not exist.

And from then on, he refused to acknowledge the existence of the rabbit, even when the rabbit tried to approach him.