How to Tame an Ocelot in Minecraft

Tame ocelots to keep away Creepers

Ocelots are a neutral mob that you can make into allies if you know what to feed them. Here's how to tame an ocelot in Minecraft on any platform.

How to Tame an Ocelot in Minecraft

Follow these steps to gain an ocelot's trust and have it follow you around:

  1. Go fishing in a lake or river and collect at least 20 raw fish (raw cod or salmon).

    Fishing in Miencraft
  2. Go to a jungle biome and find an ocelot. Don't get too close to it, or else it might run away.

    An ocelot approches in Minecraft
  3. Hold the raw fish in your hand until it comes up to you.

    A player holds out raw fish for an ocelet and cub
  4. Feed the raw fish to the ocelot. How you do this depends on the platform you're playing on:

    • PC: Right-click and hold
    • Mobile: Tap and hold the screen
    • Xbox: Press and hold LT
    • PlayStation: Press and hold L2
    • Nintendo: Press and hold ZL
    A baby ocelot being fed raw fish in Minecraft

    If you feed a baby ocelot raw fish, it will grow into an adult. Keep feeding the ocelot to tame it.

  5. Keep feeding the ocelot fish until red hearts appear over its head. The ocelot will now become your ally.

    A tamed ocelot with hearts over its head in Minecraft

    In older versions of Minecraft, tamed ocelots turned into cats. Cats are now a separate mob that you can also tame with raw fish.

Where to Find Ocelots

Ocelots are only in jungle biomes. Search for them in open spaces since they won't approach you in close quarters. If you're playing Creative mode, you can use an Ocelot Spawn Egg to summon as many ocelots as you want.

What You Need to Tame Ocelots

Ocelots will only eat raw salmon or cod. You should collect at least 20 raw fish to hold their attention. To gather fish, you first need to craft a fishing rod and go fishing in a lake, pond, or river.

What You Can Do With Ocelots

Like real cats, tamed ocelots will not stand by your side at all times unless you bribe them with food. Otherwise, they will wander around quite a bit. To keep them by your side, hold raw fish in your hand. Some mobs will run away from ocelots, so having one by your side can help you navigate areas with many Creepers.

Breed ocelots by feeding raw fish to two tame adult ocelots who are close to each other. Build a fence to keep your ocelot family together.

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