Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" called it "a breezy little film" which "does have flashes of good satiric wit. But, under Elliott Silverstein's direction, it is mostly just juvenile lampoon." "Variety" wrote that the film "emerges middlingly successful, sparked by an amusing way-out approach and some sparkling performances." Richard L. Coe of "The Washington Post" praised the film as a "springy satire," adding, "What makes this fun is the style. Forming a mighty cool duo, Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye sing their way in and out of the plot with folk songs which Cole 'Don't Fence Me In' Porter would have relished. The format is novel and stylishly delivered." Pauline Kael in "Film Quarterly" called it "lumpen, coy, and obvious, a self-consciously cute movie," adding that "mainly it is full of sort-of-funny and trying-to-be-funny "ideas" and a movie is not just ideas." Philip K. Scheuer of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "I'm in the minority, apparently. "Cat Ballou," which is being hailed as a cowboy "Tom Jones" or something of the sort, seems to me about as funny as a soundtrack burp." "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "The jokes in "Cat Ballou" are uneven, but the mood behind the film is happily consistent."