How to Tame Animals in Minecraft: Simple Guide
Learning how to tame animals in Minecraft opens up a whole new dimension of gameplay. Are you looking for a pet friend on the (sometimes) lonely Minecraft adventure? Maybe you need a partner to take down mobs together, sharpen your Enderman fighting strategy, or a companion to help you save hundreds of travel hours. If that’s you, taming Minecraft animals is a great start.
This guide will teach you how to make animals obedient to you, follow you around the map, wagging its tail each time to step through the door in Minecraft. If you ever run into connectivity problems like Minecraft Realms down issues while playing online, make sure to check for solutions before you continue your adventure.
But first, let’s get this out of the way:
Taming an animal is no simple task. But it is achievable.
How do you make a stray cat see you as a friend? Why should a pound dog trust you?
You need to answer these real-life questions and apply the proper techniques to win over an animal’s trust in Minecraft.
To do that, you must crack the challenge of knowing what the animals like to do. Each animal has a portion of food they would rarely turn down; finding it is a great way to start domesticating the animal.
Another challenge is that some animals are extremely rare and even though they are closely related to other animals, taming them requires a different technique.
So, where to start?
Use the techniques below to tame animals in Minecraft.
What animals can actually be tamed in Minecraft?
Not all Minecraft mobs behave the same way after you interact with them. It helps to understand the difference before you spend time chasing the wrong animal. Here is a quick breakdown of every mob that responds to taming or trusting:
Tameable pets that follow you
- Cat: Feed raw cod or raw salmon. Once tamed, the cat follows you, sits on command, and wears a collar.
- Wolf: Feed bones. Once tamed, the wolf follows you, attacks your enemies, and wears a collar. Use meat after taming to heal or breed wolves.
- Parrot: Feed wheat seeds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, or beetroot seeds. Once tamed, the parrot perches on your shoulder.
Tameable rideable mobs
- Horse: Mount repeatedly with an empty hand until hearts appear. You need a saddle to control and ride a tamed horse.
- Donkey: Tamed the same way as a horse by mounting repeatedly. Equip a chest to give it storage for carrying items.
- Mule: Bred from a tamed horse and a tamed donkey. Tame it by mounting repeatedly, then add a chest for storage.
- Llama: Mount repeatedly until hearts appear. Llamas cannot be saddled but can carry a chest and be led in a caravan with a lead.
Mobs that only trust you (not full pets)
- Ocelot: Feed raw cod or raw salmon. The ocelot gains your trust — it stops fleeing as easily and will not despawn — but it does not follow you, sit on command, or wear a collar. It is not a tameable pet.
- Fox: You cannot tame an adult fox. Instead, breed two adult foxes using sweet berries or glow berries. The baby fox that is born will naturally trust you and follow you as it grows.
How to Tame Animals in Minecraft: Cats
You will find a cat in any biome where a village can spawn, and you need either raw cod or raw salmon to tame one. But like their real-life variant, Minecraft cats have quick paws. They may quickly run away when they sight you.
To tame a cat, approach it slowly with the raw cod or salmon in your hand and watch it gradually get close to you. When the cat is close enough, start feeding it the fish until hearts appear above its head, showing that it now trusts you.
How to Tame a Horse
One reason why taming a horse is easy is because you can find it easily in plain biomes. The actual taming method does not require any food at all — it is all about mounting.
To tame a horse, approach it with an empty hand and press the mount button. The horse will likely throw you off at first. Keep mounting it repeatedly until hearts appear above its head, which confirms it is now tamed.
Food such as apples, wheat, hay bales, carrots, sugar, golden apples, and golden carrots can raise the horse’s temper (making it easier to tame) and heal it, but feeding food alone will not tame the horse.
Once a horse is tamed, you need a saddle to properly ride and control it. Without a saddle, you can sit on the horse but cannot steer it. Saddles are found in chests in dungeons, villages, and other structures — they cannot be crafted.
To breed horses, you need two tamed horses and golden apples or golden carrots. Feed one to each horse to trigger breeding and produce a foal, and check out our guide to breeding tameable mobs if you want to learn how the process works with other animals too.
How to Tame Animals in Minecraft: Ocelots
Ocelots are found in jungle biomes and, unlike many other animals on this list, they cannot be tamed as pets in current Minecraft. What you can do is earn an ocelot’s trust by feeding it raw cod or raw salmon.
To gain an ocelot’s trust, hold raw cod or raw salmon in your hand and stand still. Allow the ocelot to approach you slowly — moving toward it will scare it off. Once it is close enough, feed it the fish until hearts appear above its head.
A trusting ocelot will stop fleeing from you as easily and will not despawn, but it will not follow you around, sit on command, or wear a collar like a tamed cat does. According to the official Minecraft Wiki, ocelots gaining trust is a distinct mechanic from full taming.
If you want a followable pet, note that cats are now a separate mob in Minecraft. They spawn in villages and can be fully tamed with raw cod or raw salmon to become a true companion that follows you and sits on command.
How to Tame a Wolf
Minecraft wolves spawn in all types of forests and enjoy bones. When you approach the wolf you wish to tame, feed it bones until its face changes and the heart sign shows at the top of its head. You will also notice that a collar now appears on its neck. Meat is not used for taming — after your wolf is tamed, you can feed it meat to heal it back to full health or to breed two tamed wolves together.
How to Tame a Parrot
Parrots are also found in Jungles, but you can bring one home to domesticate it. Interestingly, Parrots can also take on the likeness of other mobs.
To tame one, get some wheat seeds and right-click on the bird until it starts showing the heart symbol above its head.
The cool thing about taming a parrot is that it will fly and sit on your shoulder when it finally tames.
Wrapping up
Now that you know how to tame animals in Minecraft, following the correct technique for each species will save you time and ensure that you can tame any animal in any biome you land. Provided that you can identify and provide what the animal likes, taming them can be very easy. If you’re looking for ways to play Minecraft without restrictions, including how to get Minecraft unblocked at school or work, check out our comprehensive guide. Don’t forget to also read our complete guide on taming horses in Minecraft, and let us know any topic you’d like us to cover in the comment.
