Everything you need to know about Cats in Minecraft

Cats in Minecraft are a passive mob that makes a good pet and companion for when you are in Minecraft. A cat also comes with some interesting features that make up for the fact that it will give you quite a workout when you eventually tame one.

Where do cats spawn in Minecraft?

Finding the natural spawn points for cats in Minecraft is crucial to finding them and making them one of your party. They usually spawn in villages and swamp huts.

Cats spawn every minute. A random player is selected and a random location anywhere between 8-32 blocks away on the same level is chosen for a cat to appear on.

In the Bedrock edition, 25% of cats will spawn as a baby kitten. On full moons, 50% of cats that spawn are black cats.

Stray cats in Villages

A stray cat in a village is a common sight- as long as there are at least 5 claimed beds and 4 cats within the immediate area. Village cats will also spawn with a random appearance, excluding black cats which spawn during a full moon.

If a cat spawns with a village, it does not despawn. But if you manually spawn one and forget to name it, the cat will despawn.

In the Bedrock edition, villages spawn stray cats for one cat per four beds that are claimed. All cats in the area are counted for this quota, including kittens and any other cat you might wander in with.

Can you find cats in Swamp huts?

A swamp hut or witch huts is another place you can find stray cats. However the cat that spawns here with world generation will be a black cat and will not despawn.

You may spawn additional cats here but in the Java edition, these will always be a black cat.

Do Minecraft cats come in different colours?

If you ever felt like your Minecraft cat family needed more variation, the game has 11 cat skins for you.

• Black: orange eyes and black fur
• British Shorthair: silver fur and yellow eyes
• Calico: orange, white and dark brown with yellow and blue eyes
• Jellie: gray and white cat with gray-green eyes
• Persian: creamy with blue eyes and flat faces
• Ragdoll: white and soft amber with blue eyes
• Red: orange and white with green eyes
• Siamese: pale brown and white cat with blue eyes
• Tabby: brown and white with yellow eyes
• Tuxedo: black and white with green eyes
• White: white with light blue and yellow eyes

It’s pretty obvious someone was a big cat fan when working on Minecraft.

Cat behaviour

Depending on whether you come across stray cats or a tamed cat, its behaviour will vary.

Stray cats

Untamed cats can despawn naturally and they will also attack chickens, rabbits and baby turtles: a menace in general. They also explore outside villages.

Unless you are sneaking towards them, they will run away from you but can be lured closer with raw fish.

Tame cats

Tamed cats like to explore around a player and they enjoy getting on top of chests, the foot of beds or on active furnaces. If a tamed cat is sitting on a chest, you cannot use the chest until the cat is removed.

A cat can also enter a boat and get itself stuck inside

How do you tame a cat

A tamed cat in Minecraft should be one of your goals. The process of getting one is tricky and you are going to need raw fish with you to lure the cat. The more raw fish you have, the better. We suggest making a quick stop to go fishing to get some fish before you try to tame a cat.

Now that you have your fish, it's time to slowly approach the stray cat and begin.

1. Hold the raw fish in your hand-it can be either raw cod or raw salmon
2. The cat will approach slowly
3. Right click on the cat with the raw salmon or raw cod to feed the cat
4. Keep feeding the cat until hearts pop up to show that the cat is now your friend

A tamed cat can be made to sit where it stands by right clicking on it but cats will also sit around on their own accord. Tamed cats will not despawn.

Once a cat has been tamed, a red collar will appear around its neck and it will purr and meow more frequently near a player.

Teleportation

Tamed cats can ‘teleport’ to a player that moves 12 blocks away, the same as with tamed wolves. This works out well if you wander away and forget about your cat. Just make sure you’re not underwater when your cat teleports to you.

Traveling with Minecraft Cats

When you’re in Minecraft and need to travel with a cat-tamed or untamed-you are going to need a lead. To use a lead, this is what you do:

1. Hold the lead in one hand
2. Approach the cat
3. Right click on the cat with the lead

Now that the lead is attached, you are free to travel and the cat will follow you.

What can a cat drop?

If you kill a cat, there are a couple of things they will drop for you: string and xp points. The drops are not extreme and it's actually a better idea to tame or breed cats instead.

String

An adult cat can drop between 0-2 string when killed. This amount cannot be increased by using enchanted weapons.

XP Orbs

Killing a cat yourself or with a tamed wolf will give you 1-3 XP points. These can be used for enchantments and when you repair tools.

Can cats bring you gifts?

Yes, Minecraft cats can bring you gifts. There is a 70% chance that your tamed cat-or cats- will bring you ones that you can use.

Tamed Minecraft cats will drop their gifts after a player wakes up after sleeping at night. They can include:

• Hide and Feet from rabbits-no rabbits are safe
• String
• Rotten flesh
• Feather
• Raw chicken
• Phantom Membrane

How to breed cats in Minecraft

To increase the number of feline friends you have, you can breed cats in Minecraft. Who doesn’t want a tiny cute cat running around anyway?

When you’re ready to breed cats, you are going to need a pair of adult cats and some cod or raw salmon. Now that you have your two cats and some fish, this comes next:

1. Hold the raw salmon or raw cod in one hand
2. Right click on the first cat
3. Right click on the second cat
4. Red hearts will appear as the cats enter love mode and a baby kitten appears!

The kitten will have the same colour as one of the parents and will belong to one of the cats’ owners too.

Feed the kitten raw cod or raw salmon to accelerate its growth, reducing growth time by 10%.

Are Cats in Minecraft hostile?

The only cats in Minecraft that are hostile are stray cats. They will chase rabbits, baby turtles and chickens. Make sure to keep stray cats away from these other mobs if they fall into any of the above categories.

Looking after your cat

Tame cats in Minecraft need some TLC if they’re following an adventurer such as yourself. And sometimes you can give them things too!

How to heal your cat

Feeding your Minecraft cats raw salmon or cod will restore their health by 2 hearts. This is important to remember since Minecraft cats can scare off hostile mobs.

Can you customize a cat collar?

When you find cats in Minecraft and tame them, they get their own collars. Cat’s collars are red by default but you can change the colour on them too!

To customize your cat’s collar, all you need is some dye and for your cat to not run away.

More Minecraft cat facts

• Cats in real life can flip upright during a fall, in Minecraft you will find cats do not take fall damage either
• The Tuxedo and Jellie cat skins are based off real cats 
• Cats follow the player that tamed them everywhere unless instructed to sit
• Cats can take damage when walking on a cactus in a desert biome