Sometimes asking a question makes you think of an answer.
I think I have a good workaround for now.
I’m writing an AutoKey script to do it using a Python regex. The added benefit of doing it this way is that it will work almost anywhere, not just in Kate.
It’s an active part of the splash screen. I don’t want to get rid of it. Since it only lasts a short time - much less than the whole splash screen, I was wondering if something particular was being done while it is displayed.
I have occasionally disabled splash screens and watched all the startup log entries fly by, but I don’t want to see that unless something is seriously broken and I need to figure out what.
I’ve got it working, but I have to use it a while to see if it’s stable.