This idiom describes someone in a state of extreme nervousness, agitation, or restlessness, often due to pressure or discomfort. It evokes the image of a cat skittering on a scalding roof, unable to find a safe spot to rest. The phrase is used to convey anxiety, indecision, or being in a precarious situation where action is urgent but difficult.

Popularized by Tennessee Williams’ 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning play *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*, which explores family tensions and emotional turmoil, the phrase likely predates the play in Southern U.S. vernacular. The imagery draws from rural life, where cats might leap onto hot metal roofs and react frantically. Williams’ play, adapted into a 1958 film, cemented the phrase in modern English, with its title symbolizing characters trapped in fraught situations. Earlier analogs exist in Southern folklore, but no definitive pre-1955 record has been found.