Cătălin Hîldan first came into contact with sports at the age of eight at the rugby club Olimpia together with his older brother Cristian.

[2] Two years later, in the summer of 1986, he joined football club Dinamo București where he worked with coach Ionuț Chirilă, playing alongside Florentin Petre, Mihai Tararache and others.

[2] His first match for Dinamo was on 2 October 1994 when coach Ion Moldovan sent him on the field in the 39th minute to replace Sulejman Demollari in a Divizia A derby against Steaua București which ended with a 2–0 loss.

[5][6][7] In the 1999–2000 season, under the guidance of Dinu, Hîldan played 29 league games in which he scored one goal, helping Dinamo win the league title for the first time in nine years, which was won mathematically after a 3–2 victory against Steaua, also in the same season, he scored the second goal of the 2–0 victory in the Cupa României final against Universitatea Craiova.

[2] Cătălin Hîldan died on 5 October 2000, while playing in a friendly match between Dinamo and Șantierul Naval Oltenița, having a stroke in the 74th minute of the game and fell to the ground.