The verb “pussyfooting” as we know it today seems to have surfaced in print back in 1903, in the Atlanta Constitution where a columnist wrote: “Vice President Charles Warren Fairbanks is pussy-footing it around Washington.”
Similarly, what is the meaning of p * * * * footing around?
If you say that someone is pussyfooting around, you are criticizing them for behaving in a too cautious way because they are not sure what to do and are afraid to commit themselves. [disapproval]