What does と mean when it is at the beginning of a sentence？


I believe it is acting maybe as a conjunction of すると But I'm not 100%
sure。Here is the paragraph for full context.

> さすがに少女の落胆にも物申したいところだが、自分の不甲斐なさが身にしみていてついつい言葉が出てこない。
>
> **と** ,それまで彼女の肩の上で沈黙を守っていた小猫が尻尾を振りながら
>
> 「安心しなよ。……彼、悪気だけはまったくない」

Any help would be much appreciated thanks.




と here conveys the idea “at that moment”. Which moment? The one described in
the previous sentence.

But it seems you left out some of the following context. I’m guessing but it
seems to me that the cat which has been quietly perched on her shoulder now
begins to speak.

At any rate, this sort of _dramatic_ use of と is not unusual and gives a sense
of immediacy and flow to the narrative.




と here conveys the idea “at that moment”. Which moment? The one described in
the previous sentence.

But it seems you left out some of the following context. I’m guessing but it
seems to me that the cat which has been quietly perched on her shoulder now
begins to speak.

At any rate, this sort of _dramatic_ use of と is not unusual and gives a sense
of immediacy and flow to the narrative.

