A knot of a certain kind resembling a lark’s-foot hitch; see cat's paw for more detailed information
A pawn or dupe; somebody who has been unwittingly tricked into acting in another's interest
It could be said – there are plenty who say it – that his rejection of the left has made him a cat's paw of the right, but it is a pretty strange right-wing cat's paw who favours the idea of unrestricted illegal immigration into Spain.
() Meaning 1: From a fable, perhaps of Aesop's, in which a crafty monkey begs a cat to pull hot chestnuts from a fire. The cat singes his paw, and the monkey gobbles up the chestnuts leaving none for the cat.
Meaning 2: Probably due to resemblance in terms of shape.