Most cats do not approach humans recklessly. The possibility of concealed weapons, clods or sticks, tend to make them reserved. Homeless cats in particular — with some justification, unfortunately — consider humans their natural enemies. Much ceremony must be observed, and a number of diplomatic feelers put out, before establishing a state of truce.

Alexander humorously anthropomorphizes cats as cautious diplomats, suggesting their wariness is not aloofness but learned self-protection. The mention of “concealed weapons, clods or sticks” points to the real history of human cruelty that shapes feral and stray animals’ behavior. By framing first contact as a negotiated “truce,” he implies that trust between species is fragile and must be earned through patience, ritual, and restraint. The passage also reverses the usual human-centered assumption that animals should readily accept us; instead, it asks readers to recognize how we may appear threatening, and to approach vulnerable creatures with empathy and respect.