Hatfield wrote and recorded the album solo over the course of 12 days, playing all instruments other than the drums.

[3] Jon Putnam of The Line of Best Fit gave the album a nine out of 10 for being Hatfield's best album, writing that it is "an unqualified success [as] Hatfield has constructed it with multiple dimensions and, no matter the mood or approach a given song takes, she continually scores with material among the finest of her career".

[4] Will Layman of PopMatters agrees that this is Hatfield's best release and frames his review by writing that "Pussycat is a celebration of some kind", as humans need to rely on one another for strength, including with uplifting music.

[5] The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide gave this release four out of five stars, with reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine calling it a combination of "kinetic energy" in the performances with "a wealth of smart, barbed songs" in the songwriting that has "no separation between the personal and the political".

[6] Writing for Paste, Craig Dorfman scored Pussycat a 7.2 out of 10, for fierce lyrics criticizing misogyny and summing up that it has a "cathartic honesty ideal for the anger of our times".