Cat may see row about golf (5)
I believe the answer is:
tiger
'cat' is the definition.
(I know that tiger is a type of cat)
'row about golf' is the wordplay.
'row' becomes 'tier' (a tier is a row of things).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'golf' becomes 'g' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'tier' placed around 'g' is 'TIGER'.
'may see' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tiger that I've seen before include "Fierce person" , "Striped big-cat" , "Predator" , "he got his stripes" , "Striped feline" .)