How to Tame a Cat in Minecraft
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Minecraft
How to Tame a Cat in Minecraft
Tips
Cats are one of the most useful passive companions in Minecraft, especially around a main base. The Creeper deterrent alone makes them worth keeping near storage rooms, farms, and building areas where a single explosion can destroy a lot of progress.
Because most taming attempts start in or near villages, it helps a lot to already know where to find a village quickly before you go looking for cats.
Once you tame a pair, they also fit naturally into your wider animal setup. If you are building out a full passive mob base, it makes sense to combine this with how to breed animals in Minecraft so all your renewable mobs are in one place.
If you’re also collecting pets or mounts, another natural next step is how to tame a horse in Minecraft.
⚡ Quick Answer
Step by Step
Find a stray cat near a village or Swamp Hut, hold raw Cod or raw Salmon in your hand, crouch and approach slowly, then right-click to feed it. Repeat until red hearts appear and a collar forms — the cat is now tamed. Cats will not approach if you move too fast, so always crouch when getting close. If you don’t have one nearby yet, start with how to find a village in Minecraft.
1
Get raw Cod or raw Salmon. Fish at any body of water with a Fishing Rod — both fish are common catches. Alternatively, kill fish mobs in rivers or oceans for a quick supply. You may need 3–8 fish per taming attempt depending on luck.
2
Find a stray cat. Stray cats spawn near villages (one per 4 villagers, up to 10 per village) and near Witch Huts in swamps. They come in 11 different coat patterns. Approach the village carefully — running will cause nearby cats to flee. If you still need one, follow how to find a village in Minecraft.
3
Crouch and approach slowly. Hold Shift to crouch before getting within about 6 blocks of the cat. Stray cats are skittish — walking upright toward them causes them to run away. Crouching signals you’re not a threat and lets you get close enough to feed them.
4
Feed the cat raw fish. With raw Cod or Salmon in your hand, right-click the cat to feed it. You’ll see grey smoke particles if the taming attempt fails — keep feeding. When red hearts burst from the cat and it receives a red collar, it’s successfully tamed.
5
Set the cat to sit or follow. Right-click your tamed cat to toggle between sitting (stays in place) and following you. A sitting cat won’t teleport to you when you move away — useful for keeping cats at your base. Tamed cats teleport to you if they’re following and you move more than 12 blocks away.
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Cats scare away Creepers and Phantoms — Creepers will flee from any tamed cat within 6 blocks, and Phantoms won’t swoop near a cat. Keeping cats at your base passively protects it from two of the most annoying enemies in the game.
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Cats bring you gifts after sleeping — if a tamed cat sleeps with you in a bed, it has a chance to bring you a morning gift including Phantom Membranes, feathers, string, and occasionally Rabbits’ Feet.
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Change the collar color by right-clicking your tamed cat with any dye — 16 colors available. Useful for telling apart multiple cats at a glance when you have several at your base.
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Breed tamed cats with raw Cod or Salmon — feed two tamed cats and they produce a kitten. The kitten’s coat pattern is randomly inherited from one of the parents. Kittens become adults after 20 in-game minutes. The same basic system is explained in how to breed animals in Minecraft.