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I have several raw fish and have been trying to tame an ocelot. However, every time I get it to approach and feed it a fish, it simply wants to breed. I am playing on SMP, and have tried logging in/out to see if maybe the texture just didn't change, but it appears the ocelot is simply un-tamed. The wiki confirms that this should tame the ocelot.

Is this a bug or a change? How can I tame this lascivious ocelot?

Here is a screenshot of my second attempt. This time, unlike last, clicking with the fish caused the ocelot to also flee. I am not sure if this is the same ocelot or not.

lascivious ocelot

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are you using any mods, if so which ones? Can you provide screenshots? –  Ender Apr 27 '13 at 18:29
@Ender No mods on the server. I'm using client side mods like Optifine and REI's minimap, but those can't affect actual gamestate. –  dlras2 Apr 27 '13 at 18:30

2 Answers 2

According to Minecraft Wiki > Ocelot#Taming:

When the fish is held, the Ocelot will slowly approach the player, and when it stops, right-clicking raw fish on the Ocelot will begin to tame it. The Ocelot will begin emitting hearts when fed, but is not actually tamed until it changes to a cat. Taming an Ocelot is likely to take more than one fish, sometimes up to five.

If Right-clicked and nothing happens, then:

  • The player is chasing it.
  • The player is not within 5 blocks of the Ocelot.
  • The player or the Ocelot is in a minecart.
  • The Ocelot cannot escape (if it is on a structure that is more than 4 blocks high).
  • The player has already moved or taken damage from a hostile mob.

And in Minecraft Wiki > Ocelot#Trivia:


(Emphasis mine)

So, it is true that ocelots will want to breed. To really tame it, you shall keep on giving it fish until it is finally tamed and turns into a cat. Also, prevent moving or rotating the camera too quickly. If it is not accepting fish, it may be frightened or it is too far from you (see above).

In the screenshot you provided, it seems that the ocelot is more than 5 blocks away from you. This might be the cause of it not accepting more fish from you (since you can't give it fish when it is too far away). Also, it looks like being frightened by you. If you have moved or rotated the camera, that would explain.

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The first time I attempted it, I had many fish, the ocelot was within 5 squares of me, not fleeing, and not accepting any more. –  dlras2 Apr 28 '13 at 23:52
@DanRasmussen Well, there had to be something wrong. If you try once more and managed to take a video of what's not working, we'd be appreciated :) –  Alvin Wong Apr 29 '13 at 4:55

Keep using fish. The fish are used for both breeding and taming, but it takes a few fish to successfully tame one. After a few fish, you should have a tamed ocelot.

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I cannot use another fish after it goes into breeding mode. –  dlras2 Apr 27 '13 at 17:22
Fish are (or at least were) used for breeding only tamed cats, and ocelots could only be tamed with fish, not bred. Has this changed? –  SevenSidedDie Apr 27 '13 at 21:32
I don't think so. I think the heart effect might be a "Oh, fish, I like you now." thing. But if no more fish can be used... I don't know. –  Unionhawk Apr 27 '13 at 23:12

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