Being on the edge of the county border, it shares a boundary with the parishes of Coton in the Elms, Lullington and Walton upon Trent in Derbyshire, as well as Barton-under-Needwood, Edingale and Wychnor in Staffordshire.

The parish is roughly bounded by land features such as the River Trent and Barton-under-Needwood quarry wetlands to the west, an unnamed minor road to the north, and Pessall brook to the south and east.

To the north east there are some Thrussington member (Diamicton) superficial sedimentary deposits formed between 480 and 423 thousand years ago, all types during the Quaternary period.

The parish on average is low lying, with the lowest points surrounding the River Trent to the west, from 49 metres (161 ft).

[11] Presumed later dated features include possible post-conquest trackways,[12] and evidence of medieval farming techniques such as ridge and furrow,[13] and suggested field cropmarks.

[16] Land in Catton was granted to Wulfsige The Black (father of Wulfrun and grandfather of Wulfric Spot) by King Edmund I in 942.

[17][18] Catton was reported within the Domesday survey as a manor in 1066 at the time of the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror, by then held by Siward Barn, but by 1086 Henry de Ferrers had become the owner.

[19] It is thought this was an indication of a nucleated village immediately north of the hall area which later became deserted at a later unknown date, there are records of tax receipts being paid by inhabitants from the manor in the 13th and 14th centuries.

His daughter, Anne Beatrix, married Sir Robert John Wilmot, a later Member of Parliament who took on her surname after her father's death in 1823.

[25] It was recorded there was a church in the vicinity, dedicated originally to St Nicholas alone and granted by Nigel de Albini to the Prior of Tutbury in 1100.

[29] Robert Wilmot-Horton worked for many years in the Colonial Office, and was also governor of Ceylon for a time, he acceded to the Wilmot of Osmaston baronetcy after his father.

[25] The current boundary of the parish in the north Ryeland area once was not the boundary of the county, due to the course of the River Trent being further out west along a paleo-channel, taking in the Borough Holme island west of the Catton Ryelands which was in Walton-on-Trent parish until 1991 when the county perimeter was redrawn to follow the modern river course.

[31][32] Further west, although in Wychnor parish in Staffordshire, the floodplain is known as Cat Holme, which has developed into the large scale Hanson's sand and gravel quarry which opened in 1972.

[35] The Bloodstock Open Air Festival began there in 2005, in 2009 the second stage at Catton Park was named in Sophie Lancaster's memory, she was murdered after being attacked by a gang of youths in Bacup, Lancashire because of her goth subculture leanings.

There is a field named Brick Kiln Pit to the south of the parish, close to Catton Park,[39][40] although there are no above ground remains.

Shopping for some basic everyday items generally requires travelling to nearby villages such as Walton-on-Trent or Alrewas, or larger towns such as Burton-upon-Trent, Lichfield or Swadlincote.

[49] Catton Park hosts several annual festivals and social gatherings: There are five items of architectural merit throughout the parish with statutory listed status.

[4] A monument for Catton locals is at St Laurence's Church, Walton on Trent, commemorating personnel who served in the World War I and WWII conflicts.