As for the PRP, I wonder if it’s a Canadian lynx. Illinois is a bit further south than they usually range, but not so far as to be completely outside the realm of probability. They eat lots of rabbits, too. I’m not sure if lynx line their nests/shelters with fur or not, but the size of the ‘nest’ seems about right. The footprints are the right size too – lynx tracks are only a little smaller than puma tracks. The Kane County size estimates track, also – lynx can get close to that size, and they look heavier than they are. I’m inclined to believe that the ‘black cat in a cornfield’ was something else, though – probably a large domestic cat, with its size massively misjudged.

The only snag is, lynx aren’t generally black. They’re grey, though, so they might look black from a distance. There are melanistic bobcats, too, so the idea that there might be melanistic lynx isn’t too horribly far-fetched.