Cat almost traps knight in shade (5)
I believe the answer is:
tinge
'shade' is the definition.
(tinge is a kind of shade)
'cat almost traps knight' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'knight' could be 'n' (chess abbreviation) and 'n' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'tige' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tinge that I've seen before include "Slight amount of colour" , "Get in (anag)" , "Small quantity of (differing) colour" , "Colour slightly; trace" , "Hint; shade" .)