Howard holds the kitten close for a minute and lets him lick his fingers. He holds the kitten up close to his face and takes in the kitten smell. It's okay if a cat sees him cry a little, it's just a cat. When the kitten starts to squirm away, Howard wipes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths and follows.

...to where the cat's trying to write in the litter?

Howard gets down on his knees and stares over the litter for a moment, trying to piece it together. For a few seconds it looks like he's about to just give up and storm off in frustration. Then he looks over at the kitten again.

"Cedric?!"