
How to Tame Cat in ARK
The Smilodon, or simply Sabertooth, is one of the Creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved.
Quick Facts
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Temperament
- Neutral
- Tame Method
- Knockout
- Rideable
- No
Cat Taming Details
Cat is a knockout tame. Its most effective taming food is Kibble (preferred) or Raw Mutton.
Alternative foods: Cooked Lamb Chop, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, Raw Meat.
Taming Steps
1. Prepare your gear
Bring Tranq Arrows or Tranq Darts, a Crossbow or Longneck Rifle, Narcotics or Narcoberries, and bug repellent.
2. Locate the creature
Find a wild Cat on supported maps. Check the spawn map and bring a fast mount or a flyer for transport.
3. Knock it out
Cat is a knockout tame. Use a Crossbow, Longneck Rifle with Tranq Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts. Aim for the head for bonus torpor and keep distance to avoid aggro damage.
4. Feed the right food
Place Kibble (preferred) or Raw Mutton in its inventory (alternatives: Cooked Lamb Chop, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, Raw Meat). Higher-tier food gives faster taming and higher level bonuses.
5. Maintain torpor
Watch the torpor bar. Feed Narcoberries or Narcotics to prevent it from waking up before the tame completes.
6. Claim & saddle
Once tamed, Cat will follow your commands. It cannot be ridden.
Cat base stats
Level 1 wild values, with the gain each point adds in the wild and after taming.
| Stat | Base | Per wild level | Per tamed level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 125 | +20.0% | +27.0% |
| Stamina | 100 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Oxygen | 150 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Food | 450 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Weight | 60 | +2.0% | +4.0% |
| Melee damage | 1 | +5.0% | +10.0% |
| Movement speed | 1 | +0.0% | +1.0% |
| Torpidity | 100 | +6.0% | +0.0% |
Taming & saddle figures
Breeding & movement
Where it spawns & other details
Cat spawns on Astraeos, Ragnarok, Valguero, Lost Colony, The Center, The Island, Extinction.
Related tools & resources
Cat — Background & Lore
The Cat is a small shoulder pet added to ASA in 2025. It fights from its owner's shoulder, chases off common pests, and makes the items it carries weigh half as much on you. It cannot be ridden.
Where to find it
It is most frequent on Astraeos, Ragnarok and Valguero. It is rare on The Island, The Center, Extinction and Lost Colony.
Taming
A passive tame. Put
Raw Prime Fish Meat in the last hotbar slot, approach a calm cat and feed it repeatedly until the tame finishes. Angry or scared cats cannot be tamed alone, so a second survivor helps.
Breeding
- Gestation: live birth after about 2.6 hours.
- Growth: a kitten matures in about 1.3 days at 1x.
Uses
- Pest control: every few seconds it scares off
Compys,
Ichthyornis,
Meganeura,
Microraptors,
Pegomastax and
Titanomyrma in a wide radius. - Combat: Bite and Pounce, which latches onto a target's face and keeps dealing damage.
- Carrying: halves the weight of the items it holds.
Tips
It can wear helmets and has nine lives, so it can be revived from your inventory.