The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jake Nava and filmed at the Red Rock Canyon State Park in California.

"Cater 2 U" was written by Destiny's Child members Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, along with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Ricky "Ric Rude" Lewis and Robert Waller.

[2] Lyrically, "Cater 2 U" talks about females wanting to submissively serve their male love interests and take care of them as they admire their hard work and are inspired by them.

[6] In the second edition of the book Introducing Cultural Studies, the authors argued that the song contained lyrics about objectification of women, which suggested that their gender role was to "'keep herself up', 'keep it right', 'cater to' their man by providing him with his dinner, a foot rub, a manicure, fetching his slippers, and much more, on demand".

[7] An editor writing in The Times of India found a theme of feminine assertiveness in "Cater 2 U"; he noted that "the women come off not so much as lovers as full-service romantic servants".

[9] Beyoncé opens the song listing the things she would do for her man during her verses: brush his hair, take his shoes off, give him a manicure, rub his feet, help him put his do-rag on, undo his cufflinks.

[13] Rowland was noted for nearly rapping her solo part during which she promises to "keep my figure right," "keep my hair fixed" and acknowledges that if her man comes later home while she's asleep, "all he's gotta do is tap her on the shoulder and 'I'll roll over.

[19][20] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly noted the song was one of Destiny Fulfilled's "nice bits here and there", adding, "the pillow-talky pandering of 'Cater 2 U' ... is hard to resist.

[21] Slant Magazine writer Eric Henderson opined: "But just about the only element of the whole album that really sticks is the Laura Bush-worthy domestic complacency of 'Cater 2 U,' in which the trio espouses their joy in total submission.

"[22] Dimitri Ehrlich from Vibe found that "the sexy trio is far more believable on the seductive R&B ballad 'Cater 2 U,' in which they set the feminist movement back more than a century over the course of four minutes".

Club felt that the song and "Soldier" "make sassy end-runs around notions of womanly subservience, but their best musical moments hide in tiny melismatic twirls instead of hooks".

[13] In a review of Love Songs (2013), Amanda Koellner from the website Consequence of Sound described "Cater 2 U" as a "sleek" album opener.

[24] Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine hailed the song "sexy"[25] while USA Today's Elysa Gardner felt it was more "gently sensuous".

[26] Rebecca Thomas from MTV News felt that the song differentiated from the trio's other material and added: "While the Third Wave set may have side-eyed the gushy ballad, male fans eagerly welcomed [it]".

[28] Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone echoed his statements, writing: "Jerkins should hang his head in shame for having a hand in the maudlin 'Cater 2 U,' a saccharine tune about how low Knowles, Rowland and Williams will stoop to prove their devotion to their man ...

[11] Sean Fennessey of Pitchfork Media also stated that "their swan song of sorts ... completely defies the winking empowerment most of their greatest jams provided".

[29] Jess Harvell of the same website offered similar criticism: "[The song] reneged on everything early DC stood for in a parade of kept-wifey pleas".

[32] Barbara Ellen of The Observer wrote: "I thought this was the kind of song bands recorded by mistake then hid guiltily in the attic".

[12] At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006), "Cater 2 U" was nominated in two categories, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, ultimately losing in both.

During the chorus, the group members are seen wearing black fishtail evening dresses, performing a choreographed dance routine for the camera and three males who watch them from the side; the men are never filmed in the same shot as Destiny's Child.

[5] While reviewing the video of "Cater 2 U", Rashaun Hall of MTV News felt that "[the trio] have decided to go au naturale — tastefully, of course".

[50] They further noted that the video's imagery and performance managed to proceed without a reference to its lyrics and elaborated, "Indeed, the abstracted emptiness of its desert spaces, the posed tableaux of the women's bodies and the noticeable lack of attention directed to its male subjects by both the camera and the group, does not simply jar with the lyrical narrative of female subordination but in fact reinforces the image of Destiny's Child as independent women who are in control of their own lives.

[12][59][60] In a review of a concert in the United Kingdom, Adenike Adenitire of MTV News felt that the song was suitable to "slow things down", following the previous energetic performances of the show.

[63] Similarly, Rowland performed "Cater 2 U" live during her Lights Out Tour (2013) as part of a segment which included songs by Destiny's Child.

[64] Usher and Babyface performed "Cater 2 U" at the 2005 World Music Awards on August 31 as a tribute to Destiny's Child, due to their disbandment.

[67] Chicago-based singer-songwriter Rickey Allen pushed allegations that "Cater 2 U" was inspired by a song he had composed with the same title and spelling, which was copyrighted in the mid-1990s and 2000, and performed locally during that time.