excel - Select String within Cell and Paste to Another Sheet

In Sheet1 cell A1 is the string "the cat sat on the mat". I can click into the cell and select "the cat" with my mouse and Ctr+C to copy it to the clipboard however...

I would like to be able to paste "the cat" into "Sheet2"A1 by using a short cut VBA.

I know that I can select an entire cell and paste into another sheet with a single VBA, but I can't seem to activate a Macro whilst I'm inside the cell and selecting "the cat".

Unless I'm wrong, I'm resigned to selecting "the cat", Copying via Ctr+C, clicking out of the cell and then activating a Macro - but please could someone tell me how to access the clipboard? When copying a selection of cells I use: Selection.Copy - how would I select the clipboard "the cat" that I've just copied?

Thanks in advance for any help