Crossword Genius

Go everywhere while the cat's in a state of rest (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scatter

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'go everywhere while' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'the cat's in a state of rest' is the wordplay.
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'in a state' is an anagram indicator (the letters in confusion or chaos).
'of rest' becomes 'er' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
't'+'cats'='tcats'
'tcats' with letters rearranged gives 'scatt'.
'scatt'+'er'='SCATTER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scatter that I've seen before include "Throw in various directions" , "Car test (anag)" , "Dissipate" , "Spread" , "Throw randomly" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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