In the early 1960s, Catto twice ran for the Texas Legislature as a Republican, losing both times.

He was the Deputy Representative to the Organization of American States from 1969 to 1971, Ambassador to El Salvador from 1971 to 1973, the Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1974 to 1976, the Ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva from 1976 to 1977,[4] and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 1981 to 1983.

From 1983 to 1989, he was vice chairman and president of a broadcast group at H&C Communications, operator of network television stations (Houston, Des Moines, Tucson, Nashville, Orlando-Daytona Beach, San Antonio).

He authored Ambassadors at Sea: The High and Low Adventures of a Diplomat (University of Texas Press, 1998).

Jessica Hobby Catto was a noted conservationist and journalist who wrote a blog for the Huffington Post on conservation, the media, and political issues right up until her death in 2009.