Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cat's-paw \Cat's"-paw`\, n.
   1. (Naut.)
      (a) A light transitory air which ruffles the surface of
          the water during a calm, or the ripples made by such a
          puff of air.
      (b) A particular hitch or turn in the bight of a rope,
          into which a tackle may be hooked.

   2. A dupe; a tool; one who, or that which, is used by another
      as an instrument to a accomplish his purposes.

   Note: In this sense the term refers to the fable of the
         monkey using the cat's paw to draw the roasting
         chestnuts out of the fire.

Source : WordNet®

cat's-paw
     n 1: a person used by another to gain an end [syn: {instrument},
          {pawn}]
     2: a hitch in the middle of rope that has two eyes into which
        tackle can be hooked