If you’ve ever sprinted away from a creeper only to hear that iconic hissing sound right behind you, you know how valuable a loyal cat companion is in Minecraft. Many new players track down stray cats in villages or swamp huts only to get stuck wondering what do cats eat in Minecraft to keep them happy and loyal. Unlike real-world cats that will turn their nose up at anything less than their favorite wet food, Minecraft cats have pretty specific dietary needs that tie directly to taming, healing, and even breeding more kittens for your base. I’ve been playing survival mode for over 6 years, and I’ve made every possible mistake when it comes to feeding cats, from wasting rare items to accidentally letting my favorite tabby despawn because I forgot to feed it after a long mining trip.
What Do Cats Eat in Minecraft for Taming, Healing, and Breeding?
First off, let’s cut through the misinformation you might have seen on random forums: the only foods Minecraft cats will accept are raw cod and raw salmon. Cooked versions of either fish won’t work, and neither will chicken, beef, pork, or any other mob drop you might have in your inventory. I once tried to feed a stray cat a whole stack of cooked salmon after a fishing trip, and it just stared at me like I was offering it a block of dirt, so trust me when I say you want to save the cooked fish for your own hunger bar.
Different feeding goals will require different amounts of fish, too. Taming a stray usually takes 1-3 raw fish, healing an injured cat takes 1-2, and breeding two adult cats takes one raw fish per cat to trigger the love mode. That means if you’re planning to build a whole cat colony to keep creepers away from your base, you’ll want to set up a dedicated fishing spot near your spawn to stock up on raw fish fast. You don’t need a fancy enchanted fishing rod for this, either; a basic unenchanted one will catch enough cod and salmon for a small group of cats in 10 minutes of fishing.
Step-by-Step Tips for Feeding Stray Cats Safely
A lot of new players get frustrated when strays run off before they can feed them, and I’ve been there too. I once chased a stray cat through a whole village for 15 minutes before I realized I was sprinting the whole time, which scares them off instantly. If you want to feed a stray without it running, crouch as soon as you spot the cat and move toward it slowly. Don’t make any sudden movements, and make sure you have the raw cod or salmon selected in your hotbar before you get close. Once you’re within a few blocks, right click on the cat to offer the fish. You’ll see hearts pop up once it accepts the food, and if it’s tamed, you’ll see a collar appear around its neck right away.
There are a few common mistakes to avoid when feeding cats, whether they’re strays or already tamed companions:
- Offering cooked fish or other non-fish food items that cats will completely refuse
- Moving too fast or sprinting near strays before you finish the taming process
- Trying to feed a cat that’s currently sitting or perched on a utility block like a chest or furnace
- Wasting enchanted golden apples or other rare items on cats that won’t accept them
Don’t feel bad if you mess up your first few taming attempts. I went through half a stack of raw cod before I figured out that strays won’t approach you if you’re holding a sword, even if you’re crouched. Small little details like that make all the difference when you’re trying to build up your cat colony.
Unexpected Benefits of Feeding Your Minecraft Cats Regularly
You might think feeding your cats is only necessary to keep them alive, but there are a ton of hidden perks to keeping your feline friends well fed that most new players don’t know about. First, well-fed cats will bring you random gifts every time you wake up from sleeping in a bed. These gifts can be anything from string and feathers to rare drops like rabbit feet or even phantom membranes, which are super hard to get if you don’t want to fight phantoms at night. I once got 3 phantom membranes in a week from my colony of 8 cats, which saved me hours of grinding late-game mobs to fix my elytra.
Another huge benefit is that cats will automatically scare off creepers and phantoms, as long as they’re not sitting. If you’re exploring a dark cave system, bringing a well-fed cat with you means you’ll never get snuck up on by a creeper again, because it will run away as soon as it spots your cat. Feeding your cats also prevents them from despawning, which is a big deal if you’ve spent hours tracking down a rare black or Siamese cat variant. If you don’t feed a tamed cat for more than 10 in-game days, there’s a small chance it will despawn when you’re far away from your base, so it’s worth taking 30 seconds every few play sessions to give each of your cats a piece of raw fish.
How to Build a Low-Effort Cat Feeding Station for Your Base
If you have more than 2 or 3 cats, running around your base to feed each one individually can get annoying pretty fast. I built a basic cat feeding station in my last survival world that takes 2 minutes to set up and feeds all 12 of my cats automatically, so I never have to worry about forgetting to feed them when I get back from a long trip. You don’t need any fancy redstone for this build, either. Just place a chest full of raw cod or salmon next to a hopper, and connect the hopper to a row of dispensers facing an open area where your cats usually hang out. Put a button next to the dispensers, and every time you press it, the dispensers will shoot out raw fish for the cats to eat.
Stick to raw cod instead of raw salmon for feeding, because cod is far more common to catch while fishing, so you’ll spend less time stocking up your feeding station chest. Make sure you place the feeding station at least 5 blocks away from any beds or chests, so cats don’t get stuck sitting on blocks instead of eating the fish that gets dispensed. You can even add a small fenced-in area around the feeding station to make sure all the fish stays within reach of your cats, instead of falling off a ledge or getting picked up by other mobs. I added a small fishing hut right next to my feeding station, so I can restock the chest with raw fish in 5 minutes whenever it runs low, which makes the whole process completely hands-off most of the time.
At the end of the day, caring for cats in Minecraft is pretty simple once you know what items work. Knowing what do cats eat in Minecraft takes all the guesswork out of taming, healing, and breeding these useful little companions, so you can spend less time chasing strays and more time building or exploring without worrying about creeper explosions. Don’t stress if you mess up the first few times you try to feed a stray; I wasted almost a full stack of raw salmon on my first taming attempt because I didn’t know I needed to crouch, and it all worked out in the end. Whether you’re building a small cat colony for your starter base or collecting every rare cat variant for a decorative pet zoo, keeping a stack of raw cod on hand will make the whole process way easier.