Is old cat welcoming a time in quarantine? (9)
I believe the answer is:
isolation
'quarantine?' is the definition.
(I know that isolation is a type of quarantine)
'is old cat welcoming a time' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'cat' becomes 'lion' (lion is a kind of cat).
'welcoming' means one lot of letters goes inside another (in sense of 'inviting in').
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'a'+'t'='at'
'lion' placed around 'at' is 'lation'.
'is'+'o'+'lation'='ISOLATION'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for isolation that I've seen before include "loneliness" , "Staff in such a hospital working with" , "State of being alone" , "Being separated" , "Seeking seclusion" .)