What Animals Will Follow You in Minecraft? A Comprehensive Guide
Fast answer first. Then use the tabs or video for more detail.
- Watch the video explanation below for a faster overview.
- Game mechanics may change with updates or patches.
- Use this block to get the short answer without scrolling the whole page.
- Read the FAQ section if the article has one.
- Use the table of contents to jump straight to the detailed section you need.
- Watch the video first, then skim the article for specifics.
In the blocky world of Minecraft, companionship is key to survival and enjoyment. Several creatures can become loyal followers, enhancing your adventures with their unique abilities and charming presence. But which animals will actually stick by your side? In short, the animals that will follow you in Minecraft include tamed cats, wolves, parrots, llamas, and allays (although allays are technically not tamed). Each has its own method of acquisition and distinct behaviors once they’re your steadfast companion.
Tamed Companions: A Blocky Bestiary
Let’s dive into the details of these followable friends:
Cats
Cats are perhaps one of the most popular choices for companionship in Minecraft. These feline friends can be found in villages, specifically as stray cats. To tame one, you’ll need raw cod or raw salmon. Approach a stray cat slowly and offer it the fish. With a little patience (and a few fish), the cat will display heart particles and transform into one of several unique breeds, becoming your loyal pet.
Behavior: Once tamed, a cat will follow you almost everywhere. They can teleport to your location if you move too far away (beyond 12 blocks). Cats have a few unique benefits:
- Creeper and Phantom deterrent: Cats scare away Creepers and Phantoms, making them excellent guards when exploring or building.
- Block interaction: Cats will often sit on furniture, beds, and chests, adding a touch of realism and charm to your base.
- Gifts: Occasionally, cats will bring you gifts in the morning, ranging from feathers to rabbit hides.
Wolves
The Wolf is a classic choice for a Minecraft companion. They spawn in various forest biomes and must be tamed using bones. Like cats, approach a wolf carefully and feed it bones until it displays heart particles.
Behavior: Tamed wolves are more than just pets; they’re your protectors!
- Combat: Wolves will attack any mob that you attack, offering valuable support in battles. Be careful though, wolves can be slain by explosions, poison and fall damage.
- Breeding: Tamed wolves can be bred by feeding them any type of meat. This lets you expand your wolf pack, giving you greater offensive power.
- Sitting command: Like cats, wolves can be commanded to sit, causing them to stay in place until told to follow again.
Parrots
Parrots are colorful birds found exclusively in jungle biomes. They can be “tamed” by offering them seeds. However, unlike cats and wolves, parrots don’t become fully tamed. Instead, feeding them seeds causes them to perch on your shoulder.
Behavior: Parrots bring a unique flair to your Minecraft adventures:
- Musical mimicry: Parrots will mimic the sounds of nearby mobs, providing an early warning system for potential dangers.
- Shoulder perching: Parrots will ride on your shoulder until you sleep, take damage, or fly.
- Dance: If music plays from a jukebox, parrots will dance along, adding a touch of whimsy to your base.
Llamas
Llamas are found in the savanna and mountain biomes. They are tamed by repeatedly mounting them until they display heart particles. However, taming a llama doesn’t make it a conventional follower. Instead, llamas excel as pack animals.
Behavior:
- Caravans: You can attach multiple llamas together with leads to form a caravan. The leading llama will follow you, and the others will follow it, allowing you to transport large quantities of items.
- Chests: Llamas can be equipped with chests to increase their carrying capacity.
- Spitting: Llamas will spit at hostile mobs that attack them or their owner, providing a unique form of defense.
Allays
Allays are unique, winged creatures that were introduced in a recent update. Unlike other animals, Allays cannot be tamed in the traditional sense. Instead, they are “bound” to a player by giving them an item.
Behavior:
- Item retrieval: Once given an item, an Allay will fly around and collect more of that item from the surrounding area, bringing them back to you.
- Note block association: Allays can be linked to note blocks, causing them to deliver the collected items to the note block instead of the player.
- Following range: Allays will follow a player within a 64-block radius and search for items within a 32-block radius.
Other Animals
While the following animals won’t follow you around after being tamed, there are other animals that are tameable, that are useful and some may follow you.
Horses, Donkeys, and Mules
Horses, Donkeys, and Mules can be ridden and equipped with armor. They can be tamed by repeated attempts to ride them until they display heart particles.
Behavior:
- Travel Tamed Horses, Donkeys, and Mules can be saddled and ridden for faster travel.
- Storage Donkeys and Mules can be equipped with chests to increase their carrying capacity.
Axolotls
Axolotls can be lured with a bucket of tropical fish and led around.
Behavior:
- Underwater combat: Axolotls can assist players in underwater combat by attacking hostile mobs.
Foxes
Foxes cannot be directly tamed, but breeding two foxes with sweet berries will result in a baby fox that is loyal to the player.
Behavior:
- Item retrieval: Foxes can pick up items and hold them in their mouths.
- Hunting: Foxes will hunt small animals like chickens and rabbits, which can be useful for gathering resources.
FAQs: Your Minecraft Animal Companion Questions Answered
1. Can I tame every animal in Minecraft?
No, not all animals in Minecraft can be tamed. For example, you can’t tame Axolotls, bats, or naturally spawning foxes. However, you can interact with them in various ways, such as feeding them or breeding them.
2. How do I keep my tamed animals from wandering off?
If you don’t want your pets moving, command them to sit. When sitting, they will remain in place until you tell them to follow you again.
3. What do I do if I lose my tamed animal?
Tamed cats and wolves can teleport to you if you move more than 12 blocks away. However, if they are sitting or stuck, they won’t teleport. Allays will follow you from up to 64 blocks.
4. Can my tamed animals die?
Yes, tamed animals can die from various causes, including attacks from hostile mobs, fall damage, fire, lava, and drowning. Protect your companions!
5. What is the best way to protect my tamed animals?
Build a safe enclosure for them, keep them close during adventures, and provide them with armor if possible (especially for horses). You can use name tags to prevent your animals from despawning.
6. Can I heal my tamed animals?
Yes, you can heal tamed wolves and cats by feeding them food. For example, feeding a wolf raw meat will restore its health.
7. How do I breed tamed animals?
Tamed wolves can be bred by feeding them any type of meat. Tamed cats can be bred by feeding them fish. Other animals, like horses and llamas, have their own specific breeding requirements.
8. What is the benefit of breeding animals?
Breeding animals allows you to increase the number of your companions. It can also lead to variations in their appearance and traits, such as different colors or improved stats.
9. Do tamed animals despawn?
No, tamed animals will not despawn. However, if they are not tamed or named, they may despawn if you move too far away from them.
10. Can I tame a baby animal?
Generally, no. You must tame an adult animal first, and then breed them to get a baby animal that is already loyal to you. Foxes are one example of an animal that can only be tamed this way.
11. How do I tame a fox?
You can’t tame a naturally spawned fox. Instead, you need to breed two adult foxes by feeding them sweet berries. The baby fox born from these parents will be loyal to you.
12. What is the rarest animal in Minecraft?
While subjective depending on the criteria, the Blue Axolotl is widely considered one of the rarest due to its extremely low spawn rate (0.083% chance after breeding).
13. Can Allays lead me to diamonds?
No, Allays cannot mine or destroy blocks. They can only retrieve existing items. However, if you drop a diamond near them, they will collect more diamonds from the surrounding area if they are present.
14. What happens if an Allay is killed by an Evoker or Vex?
If an Allay is specifically killed by an Evoker or a Vex, it will turn into a Vex.
15. Where can I learn more about Minecraft and game-based learning?
You can discover a wealth of resources and information about Minecraft and the educational applications of gaming at the Games Learning Society website: https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/. The GamesLearningSociety.org offers a great opportunity to connect with educators, researchers, and game developers interested in exploring the intersection of gaming and education.
Conclusion
Having animal companions in Minecraft not only adds a layer of charm and personality to your gameplay but also provides practical benefits, from combat support to resource gathering. By understanding how to tame and care for these creatures, you can enhance your adventures and build a thriving ecosystem within your blocky world.