We visited Cathy's Critters on Friday, 4/17 for my two-year-old's birthday because she has a serious obsession with cows. We thought this would be such a fun place for her and her siblings to visit, and it absolutely exceeded our expectations. Annie and Tess were our guides, and I truly cannot say enough great things about them. They took the time to teach us about every single animal we had the pleasure of meeting, allowing us to move at our own pace and really enjoy every moment. I found myself feeling so relaxed and fully present during the experience, and that wouldn't have been possible without their patience and care. They were amazing. Honestly, all of the staff we encountered were so kind and welcoming. The animals were clearly happy and very well taken care of. My kids loved every encounter and even learned a little about how to care for the animals themselves. I actually saw a review complaining about animal poop around the property... but it's a farm. The animals are free-roaming instead of being kept in cages, which honestly made the experience even more special. If someone expects a hospital-grade environment, this probably isn't the place for them. This is a farm with well-loved and well-cared-for farm and exotic animals. I highly recommend bringing yourself, your family, and your kids here. You won't regret it. We already can't wait to come back -- I might even have to celebrate my own birthday here as an adult! Annie and Tess, we loved meeting you both and can't wait until we see you again. read more

This was our first visit to Cathy's Critters and it was nothing short of amazing!!! My brother in law told us about their trip for a birthday party and he thought it was cool. The guest services entrance was a wonderful start to the visit, Tess gave us the best start off, Tess gave us maps, tips and a few laughs, she was awesome!! We came in a pretty big group and it wasn't crazy getting in and out of anywhere. A very sweet young lady gave us a detailed tour in the reptile room and my oldest son is now in love with holding exotics animals thanks to her patience. There was another young lady who felt like she was out personal tour guide , she would pop up with a smile and give us details and stories about the animals, you can really tell the animals are loved and well taken care of at Cathy's we will for sure be back!! read more

Cathy's Critters - We had a Blast!! - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

Incredible place! The staff is wonderful and it is a wonderful place for all ages to visit. The animals all appear well cared for, and I really appreciated how other local animals come and hang out on the property as well read more

I brought my son here for his 3rd birthday and was impressed. We arrived at opening on a Saturday and were able to park easily. We completed the forms using the QR code by checkout. Then the person working the entrance explained the process to us with ease. After paying and buying food for the animals, we walked around. There were many more animals here than I realized and my son loved it! The place is messy (animals don't exactly use a toilet) and I recommend bringing your messy shoes or rain boots. My son's favorite part was probably the pony ride. I noticed that they do private events. Overall, it's a fun place to visit! read more

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The absolute cutest thing I've ever done with my toddler. They had so many more animals than we expected. THE STAFF, I cannot say enough good things about them, you can tell they all really love their job. Had a guy jump out of the pond and come over to us to show us some baby turtles. We will be back! read more

Cathy's Critters - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

My visit to Cathy's Critters was absolutely wonderful! I went horseback riding and had such a relaxing, enjoyable ride on their beautiful, well-cared-for horses. Afterward, I got to meet and pet so many adorable animals each one sweet, gentle, and clearly loved. The atmosphere was welcoming, the staff were kind and knowledgeable, and the whole experience felt like a peaceful little escape. I'd highly recommend Cathy's Critters to anyone looking for a fun, hands-on animal adventure! read more

Cathy's Critters - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

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What an unbelievable evening we had! The staff was all so friendly and helpful. Everyone is so full of knowledge and willing to share facts about each of the animals. We never felt rushed or like or we were a bother. This was just an all around fantastic experience. read more

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Cathy's Critters is a gem! I went there to chaperone my son's 1st grade field trip and then sent both my kids (7, 10) to camp for the summer. It is an amazing facility that has a "home farm" feel that teaches the children to become familiar with all kinds of domestic and exotic animals. I could not think of a better way to teach children. Far and away this was my kids #1 vote for favorite camp for the Summer. read more

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This was so much fun!! We had a gloomy day but still managed to make it a great experience!

The was so cute. I took my 4 year old and 2 year old nephew and they had a blast! The staff was soooo nice. We definitely want to go back.

We loved our time at Cathy's Critters! Our grandkids really enjoyed getting up close and touching the animals. The volunteers were great in telling us about the different animals. Can't wait to bring them back! read more

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STAFF FRIENDLINESS 4 ATMOSPHERE 4 VALUE FOR MONEY 5 CLEANLINESS 3 I liked: Friendly stuff, close to my house, different cute animals, huge area, food for animals and sanitizers are provided. I did not like: Dirty, smelly, animal droppings. It looked like a neglected farm. I felt sorry for the poor animals! My experience could be much better if it was not so smelly and dirty at Cathy's Critters. Comments: I would advise cleaning this place better. Flies were flying everywhere. A bad smell was spreading through the whole area. I had a feeling to leave this place fast. read more

Cathy's Critters - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

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It's always a great time seeing the animals and children having fun. Great experience all around.

My boyfriend and I went here today. It is so much fun! Open area with animals all around. Fenced in area with petting zoo is adorable. Great place to take kids or have fun on a day date with animals lol. read more

Cathy's Critters - Bunny - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

Adorable place for my toddlers. We had so much fun as a family with pony rides and hay rides around the farm. I loved the sheep and donkeys the most. They loved to eat- and I loved that we could by food to feed the animals. We spent hours going up and down and around again. It is not that big and some animals aren't accessible but it was fun I just hope they put more signs up since we were confused as we entered. read more

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Wonderful place! My 4 year old grandson is still talking about it talking 6 months later. Great value for what the kids get out of it!

We have diligently checked weather reports and all business pages to verify the farm was open today before we drove out. We drove 20 minutes and upon arrival were promptly told they were closing in 10 minutes due to wind chill and had just made the decision. My family and I spent time driving here and were excited to check it out. If in the driving time alone, they decide to close how will we ever trust that they'll be open to make the drive here? We are very sad and frustrated. There was no offer to discount a next visit and I get this is a farm but we all left very sad and unsure if it's worth a return attempt. Again, we checked before we started driving if they were open. Maybe since we were already here and they knew we made a drive, they couldn't allow us a visit? Or offer some considerations to ease the frustration? A waste of time and money on gas. I give two stars only because I'm being considerate of a business and their operations. I knocked off 3 stars because we did our part in diligently checking and also the lack of customer consideration in encouraging a visit past "Come back next weekend!" Why? To drive all this way and you close the second we pull in? If anyone has any other farm suggestions, please advise. read more

Omg! My kids loved this place! I highly recommend going early when they open and to wear rain boots! The amount of animals they have is great as well as the variety. The price to get in is basically free from where I've been before. The staff is friendly there's lots of space and the animals seem happy and not caged up. My favorite was the baby bottle feed with the goats, my girls loved the pony ride! Definitely will be back! read more

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Love Cathy's- hello people out there this a farm!!! It's amazing and yes you'll get dirty! But you will also see and hold animals up close and personal like Kinkachus(spelling?) fennix foxes, there are kangaroos, emus, camels, geese, piggies, bunny's, ducks, geese, adorable goats, hedgehogs, chinchillas, macaws, cockatiels, all sorts of amphibians, and they help animals in need too! This place reminds us just how far removed a lot of us are from good hard work and the countryside. Also for those of you may have given weird reviews where you rate things 4, 4, 5, 3 and somehow you average that out to a 2??? Really that doesn't add or average out right! That's overall still a 4. Just saying. Will post pics soon we go here a lot! read more

This place is a true Gem. Took my four year old today and she had an amazing time Super friendly staff, so many animals to see and pet. It was truly a magical experience. Highly recommend this place and we'll definitely be going back again soon. read more

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This was a fun time with the family. Encourage anyone to wear clothes and shoes they don't mind getting a little muddy or dirty. Would not suggest sandals and slides. Depending on the places you go, some of the goats might jump on you with muddy hooves and chew on you shorts or the bottom of shirts. They have a broad array of animals. Inside the outback area we got up close and personal with 3 kangaroos, a lot of goats, some big sheep, chickens, and ducks. The exotic area had a few macaws, parakeets, chinchillas, iguanas, python, albino king snake, ferrets, and chameleon. You can touch all the creatures in the exotic area. There is a small petting zoo area which is perfect for little children. Inside there were ducks, chickens, kitten, llama, rabbits, goats, and a small horse for quick pony rides or pony rides. The there is the larger area where there are more goats, sheep, donkey, alpacas, ox, pigs, and a camel. Lots of opportunities to get up close and personal with lots of cute animals. They coordinate many different petting zoo opportunities throughout the area. I'm read more

Great spot for kids ages 3 (or 4) to maybe 10 or 11...as long as they like animals. Pigs, kangaroos, bunnies, calves, goats, lamas, horses and ponies, birds of all kinds, snakes & reptiles AND MORE!! This is their event space. We did our 9 year old's bday here and it was great!! Even in 36* weather with space heaters, totally recommend!! read more

Cathy's Critters - Inside event space. They provide tablecloths!! - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

My experience took place at the Baptist Church in McKinney Texas a few months ago. I was excited to show my granddaughter the animals however. we spent most of our time trying to find somebody that was knowledgeable about removing the small rabbits they allowed children to handle. Children were abusing and miss handling baby rabbits. I saw a number of them literally dropped to the ground and even picked up by their ears. There is no excuse for an organization to operate in this manner. They did not have near enough employees to manage the animals properly and safely. Most importantly, they demonstrated very little interest in caring for the animals. I had to explain to my granddaughter how to properly handle and care for small animals since none of their staff were interested in doing so. I am not one that likes to post negative comments about organizations. However, after our experience with Cathy's Critters I felt like I had no choice but to do so. I plan to visit Cathy's critters again in the near future. My primary purpose is to evaluate their management and caring for the animals. I truly hope that they've made improvements. I believe the majority of the public would be willing to see fewer animals as opposed to the display of animal babies that should not be handled until they get older. I am making these comments public so that we can all hold Cathy's critters accountable for the future. read more

What a wonderful place for the kids... and adults. So much fun handing out with the animals. The kids loved the petting zoo. Having a small playground in a nice respite from all the little critter adorableness flooding the grounds. read more

Cathy's Critters - In the petting pen. - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

We had an awesome visit and horseback ride! The animals are all so well taken care of and have a ton of space. All the staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. read more

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Very disappointed, unkept and felt bad for the animals. I also felt as if the staff couldn't care less if we were there or not.

time we've visited Cathy's critters, the last time was very good but this time it was so so sad to see the animals in such bad conditions, the baby pigs were starving , the kangaroos would not stand up. I was tackled to the ground by a very aggressive goat , I am 58 years old and got pretty beat up , I brought it to the attention of a staff member due to the fact there were so many little children and did not want this aggressive animal hurting anyone else, I was told well that's what animals do. We had a service animal with us and was allowed to go in but after maybe half our stay was told we had to leave because service animals are not allowed, no refund was issued . We took the service animal before no problems , so why is it ok sometimes but not other times. We will not ever go again. And I'm kinda thinking who I need to call to help those poor animals get some medical treatment read more

Friendly ppl great time and the anime are soo cute I really enjoy my self and so did my boyfriend if u have kids you should definitely take them here for sure read more

This was a perfect field trip for our school ! My kiddos 2-12 got to come learn about the animals and pet them ! They all loved it ! Mango the llama was a crowd favorite ! read more

Cathy's Critters - My daughter loved the goats! - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

Great place to take little ones. We had tons of fun learning about and petting all the farm animals!

Excellent for kiddos and parents! Lots to see and it doesn't cost a lot.....................................

Concept is great, tons of animals, tons of employees, but most animals did not appear well cared for and the land is not kept up well either. The admission is not cheap and plenty of kids working and volunteering, seems resources are avail. It would have been an incredible experience had the property been nicely kept. We did not really encounter anyone working that had any real knowledge about the animals read more

The best time ever! The friendliest people ever. Lots of exotic animals. Real reasonable prices. Pony Rides was our highlight! The animals love being feed. Lots of tiny goats! Bring your camera and be ready to be amazed. Was easy to find. read more

Amazing fun , I think I loved it more than AJ! Lol Cathy's critters blessed us with their presence on 5/24/21 for our end of school year bash! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to keep people happy! The animals were amazing and we can't wait to come see you In Princeton soon! #celinaprimary #gobobcats read more

Cathy's Critters - Mrs Wendi SANDS class at Celina primary ! Circa- 5/24/21 -end of school year bash! - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

Loved this place! It's a large farm with tons of different types of animals- parrots, a chinchilla, ferrets, kangaroos, emus, goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, peacocks, chickens, llamas, horses, donkeys, longhorns and cows. And super friendly dogs and a cat. My 2 year old was loving it! What really surprised me was just how nice and friendly the staff was- went above and beyond to show us things (although may be tougher if they are busier but still.) It is a farm, so dress accordingly in clothes you don't mind getting a little dirty, and boots or tennis shoes. Great experience, will be back for sure. read more

I am so happy I found Cathy's Critters! We celebrated Texas Day at the private school I work for and wanted the kids to enjoy a cute petting zoo experience. From booking to post petting clean up the staff was professional, knowledgeable and friendly. The animals were adorable (duh) clean and obviously very well cared for. We will absolutely be using them again! read more

We loved going to Cathy's critters and so it does pain me to write this review however I wanted to write it as a warning to other parents who are considering hiring them for a small petting zoo at a birthday party. We paid $700 dollars for the small petting zoo. Let me repeat that, SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. That was a huge splurge for us and many of our guests were astounded at the price we paid. So if you notice they don't specify what animals you'll get, it depends on availability. Which I understand. It was around 48 degrees at the time of our party. A couple days earlier I had inquired what animals we would get. We were told we would get piglets, hedgehogs, young chicken, rabbits and Guinea pigs. I was like, okay not the best selection but excited for piglets and hedgehogs. What we ended up getting was 2 baby goats, 3 chicks, 2 Guinea pigs, and 2 rabbits. The goats were the star and so adorable and you could bottle feed them. But I just can't justify spending $700 otherwise as rabbits and Guinea pigs are household pets that most kids will see in their lifetime and even own for like $30. They're pets like dogs and cats are. I would say the baby goats along with the piglets and hedgehogs we were supposed to get would have made more sense. So Again, I just can't justify the amount of money being charged for the animals you're getting. So I wanted to write this because it is underwhelming and if you're considering hiring them for a birthday party you might want to know what you're spending your money on and may want to do a different vendor or something else as the entertainment for your party. Luckily we had mostly toddlers so they didn't know any better and the lady who came to help out was super super sweet, we have no complaints there. But again, $700 is a lot of money for most people these days. I would say I'm giving 2.5 stars for the lovely lady who came out and the goats. I loved the other animals but sorry, they're not worth $700. read more

We used Cathy's Critters for our National Night Out event. They were wonderful to work with and make the entire planning process very easy. It was a hit with the crowd as they had a line of people waiting to experience the animals the entire time. The feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive. If you want a fun and unique experience for your next event, and an easy turn-key planning process, then you should use Cathy's Critters! read more

Cathy's Critters - Petting Zoos Near Me - Princeton, Texas

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Good for fun outing with kids in the covid world

The first time we visited Cathy's Critters, there was a very ill horse. He was so insanely thin and in obvious pain. We asked what was wrong with him and were told "he's 28 years old and we are just too attached to put him down." So let him continue to be miserable??? I realize that everyone is short-handed these days but the care that some of the animals is receiving is NOT acceptable!! Near the back in the horse pens the water bowls were disgusting and growing mosquito larvae! There was absolutely NO hay in these areas as well....for the amount of horses here there should at minimum be 4-5 round bales. My friend and I threw some hay over the fence because they were clearly starving, the horses fought each other for the small amount we put over. The majority of the goats and horses hooves were in terrible shape!! There is large amount of goats, one of which stood out because he had a very bad abscess on the side of his head that was oozing pus :*( At minimum he should've been separated from the rest of the herd. There was also a Great Pyrenees that was basically unresponsive to our petting and talking---laying in diahrea and no water near by. When we walked into the "exotic" pet building there were 2 employees laying on the floor on their phones. The sheep....poor babies are in desperate need of shearing, some could hardly walk because their coats were so heavy. SHAME ON YOU for allowing this to take place, not to mention the amount of $$ y'all charge now. We were very sad to leave these babies knowing they aren't getting the care they should be. We will be continually visiting to check on progress and will file a complaint with the proper authorities if we don't see improvement. I don't have photos but my friend will be posting them soon. read more