A lifelong resident of New Braunfels, Texas, Katt stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (183 cm) tall, weighed 200 pounds (91 kg), and threw and batted right-handed in his playing days.

Katt spent his entire Major League playing career with the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, spending two separate terms with each club.

That year, he set a Major League record with four passed balls in one inning, catching knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm.

During the winter, though, St. Louis shipped him to the Chicago Cubs, who in turn peddled him back to the Giants on the eve of the 1957 regular season.

He was traded back to the Cardinals in April 1958, and closed out his active MLB career with them as a third-string catcher in 1958 and a playing coach in 1959.