Explanation

• The idiom "a cat's paw" refers to someone who is being used as a tool or instrument by another person to achieve a goal or accomplish a task, often in a way that involves risk or danger.
• The phrase is thought to have originated from the idea that a cat's paw is used to test if a surface is hot or dangerous, and similarly, a person may be used as a "cat's paw" to test the waters or take the fall for someone else.