Tamed cats are one of the most useful pets in Minecraft: they scare off creepers, leave you gifts, and follow you around your base. This guide covers where to find cats, exactly how to tame one, and how to keep, move, and breed them.
Everything here is confirmed in the current 2026 version of Minecraft (26.2).
Quick answer: find a wild cat in a village (or a black cat in a swamp witch hut), then feed it raw cod or raw salmon while sneaking. Keep feeding until hearts appear, and it is tamed. After that, it follows you, and you can right-click to make it sit or use a lead to move it.
Cat Taming at a Glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Tame with | Raw cod or raw salmon |
| Chance per feed | About 1 in 3 (keep feeding until hearts appear) |
| Where to find | Villages (1+ villager, 4+ beds); black cats in swamp witch huts |
| Make it stay | Right-click to sit |
| Move it | Lead, or a fishing rod to pull it off chests/beds |
| Breed | Feed each tamed cat raw fish |
Step 1: Find a Wild Cat
Cats spawn in two places:
- Villages. A village generates stray cats as long as it has at least 1 villager and 4 beds, up to a cap based on the number of beds. These are the easiest to reach early.
- Swamp witch huts. One black cat spawns inside each witch hut in a swamp. Killing the witch and taming the black cat is a fast, guaranteed option if you find a hut.
There are 11 cat colours in total (tabby, tuxedo, red, Siamese, British Shorthair, calico, Persian, ragdoll, white, jellie, and black), and villages spawn a random mix, so you can hunt for the look you want.
Step 2: Tame It with Raw Fish
Cats are skittish, so approach carefully:
- Hold raw cod or raw salmon in your hand. (Cooked fish and other food will not work.)
- Sneak (hold the crouch key) as you get close, cats run from a player walking straight at them.
- Feed the cat. Each fish has roughly a 1 in 3 chance to tame it, so keep feeding until hearts pop up, which means it is tamed.
A tamed cat gets a collar and will start following you. Taming the black cat in a witch hut is usually the easiest, since it is trapped inside the hut and cannot run far.
Step 3: Keep, Move, and Position Your Cat
Once tamed, your cat follows you and even teleports to you when you get too far away. To control it:
- Right-click to make it sit so it stays put while you head out.
- Cats love to sit on beds and chests, and a cat on a chest blocks you from opening it. Pull it off with a fishing rod, or place a lead on it to lead it where you want.
Tamed cats also leave you gifts: when you sleep and wake up, a cat sitting nearby may drop items like string, a feather, a rabbit’s foot, rabbit hide, a phantom membrane, or rotten flesh.
Step 4: Breed More Cats
To make kittens, feed raw cod or raw salmon to two tamed cats. A kitten is born that already trusts you. Note that at least one of the two cats must be standing (not sitting) for them to breed. Kittens grow into adults over time, and you can speed that up by feeding the kitten raw fish, each one cuts the remaining growth time by 10%.
Why Cats Are Worth Taming
Beyond being pets, cats have a real gameplay perk: creepers and phantoms avoid them, keeping their distance of roughly 6 to 16 blocks. A cat near your base or on your shoulder makes creepers far less likely to sneak up and blow a hole in your build, and phantoms stay away at night. Combined with the free morning gifts, a couple of cats around your base earn their keep. If you are setting up near a village, grabbing a cat or two is an easy win, and if you prefer a rideable companion, see our how to tame a horse guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find a wild cat in a village or a black cat in a swamp witch hut, then feed it raw cod or raw salmon while sneaking. Keep feeding until hearts appear and it is tamed.
Raw cod or raw salmon. Cooked fish and other foods do not work. Each fish has about a 1 in 3 chance to tame the cat, so keep feeding until it works.
In villages that have at least one villager and four beds, and as a single black cat inside each swamp witch hut.
A tamed cat follows you automatically and teleports when you get far away. Right-click it to make it sit and stay, or use a lead to move it.
You are probably approaching too fast. Hold the raw fish and sneak toward the cat slowly, since walking straight at it makes it run.
Yes. Creepers and phantoms avoid cats, staying about 6 to 16 blocks away, so a cat near you makes creeper ambushes much less likely.
Taming a cat comes down to patience and a stack of raw fish: sneak up, feed until the hearts appear, and you have a pet that scares off creepers, brings you gifts, and follows you home. Grab one from the nearest village and your base just got a lot safer.
