Minecraft’s blocky world is awesome with pets by your side. Whether you’re hanging with a wolf, cruising on a horse, or chilling with an axolotl, you need to know how to keep them in good condition. Here’s a simple guide to healing your Minecraft pets in 2025, based on the latest game stuff (up to version 1.21.6).

1. Dogs/Wolves

Wolves are your go-to buddies for fighting and exploring. To patch up a tamed wolf, toss them any meat—raw porkchop, raw beef, raw chicken, cooked steak, or even rotten flesh works. Just right-click or tap the wolf with the meat, and they’ll scarf it down to heal. Check their tail: the higher it wags, the healthier they are.

Pet Dog In Minecraft
Minecraft dog

Quick Tip: Rotten flesh is cheap, but it might give them a weird “Hunger” effect. Doesn’t hurt them, though.

2. Cats

Cats make your base cozy and scare off creepers or phantoms. To fix up a tamed cat, give them raw cod or raw salmon. Right-click or tap with the fish, and they’ll eat it to get better. Stock up on fish from fishing or ocean trips to keep your cats happy.

How to tame a cat in Minecraft - Dexerto
Minecraft cat

Heads-Up: Cats don’t care which fish you use anymore, so cod or salmon both do the job.

3. Turtles

Turtles are cute and chill on beaches. To heal them, drop seagrass nearby or right-click with it. They’ll munch it and recover. If you’re near an ocean, grab seagrass with shears to keep your turtles in good shape.

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Minecraft turtle

Update: Turtles aren’t tameable, but healing them keeps your beach crew thriving.

4. Horses

Horses are great for zooming across Minecraft’s huge maps. To heal a tamed horse, feed them wheat, hay bales, sugar, apples, or golden apples. Hay bales heal the most, so they’re perfect for quick fixes. Right-click with the food, and check their health by hopping on—hearts show up in the interface.

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Minecraft horse

Quick Tip: Golden apples give a small stat boost, so save them for your favorite horse.

5. Llamas/Trader Llamas

Llamas and trader llamas are fun for hauling stuff on long trips. Heal them with wheat or hay bales. Hay bales work better, healing more per use. Right-click with the food, and they’ll be ready for your next journey.

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Minecraft Llamas

Update: Trader llamas pop up with wandering traders in new biomes, but they heal the same as regular llamas.

6. Mules

Mules, born from horses and donkeys, are tough for carrying gear. Heal them with sugar, wheat, apples, or hay bales. Hay bales fix them up the most, while sugar’s a fast, cheap option. Right-click with the food to keep them strong.

How to get mules in Minecraft
Minecraft mules

Heads-Up: Mules can’t breed, so take care of the ones you’ve got.

7. Skeleton Horses

These spooky undead horses are rare but cool once tamed. You can’t feed them like normal horses. Instead, hit them with a Splash Potion of Healing or Arrow of Healing to fix them up. These reverse their undead thing, healing instead of hurting. To tame one, take out its skeleton rider in a thunderstorm without hitting the horse.

Skeleton horses in Minecraft: Everything you need to know about them
Skeleton horses in Minecraft

Quick Tip: Skeleton horses don’t drown or take fall damage, so they’re super tough once healed.

8. Axolotls

Minecraft Axolotl
Axolotls are adorable underwater pals who fight off drowned and other baddies. They heal themselves slowly when not fighting, but to speed it up, use a Bucket of Tropical Fish. Right-click with the bucket, and they’ll perk up fast.

Axolotl Minecraft
Axolotl Minecraft

Update: Axolotls are still awesome in 2025, and tropical fish buckets are easier to find in lush caves now.

9. Allays

Minecraft Allay
Allays are ghostly helpers who grab items and dance to jukeboxes. They heal on their own over time and can’t eat anything. Just keep them out of trouble, like lava or mobs, and they’ll bounce back.

Minecraft Legends Mobs Hosts Allays
Minecraft Allays

Heads-Up: Allays are only in Java and Bedrock editions, with no healing changes in 1.21.6.

10. Parrots

Parrots are bright, chatty birds from jungle biomes that ride on your shoulder and groove to jukebox tunes. To tame one, feed them wheat, melon, pumpkin, or beetroot seeds until hearts show up. To heal them, use a Splash Potion of Healing since they don’t eat specific foods for health.

How To Breed Parrots In Minecraft
Parrots

Quick Tip: Parrots mimic mob sounds, so they’re fun but fragile—keep them safe from harm.

11. Foxes

Foxes are sneaky taiga dwellers that carry stuff in their mouths and pounce on small mobs. To tame one, breed two wild foxes with sweet berries or glow berries to get a baby that trusts you. Heal them with a Splash Potion of Healing, as they don’t have special healing foods.

Use Glow Berries Foxes Breeding
Feed foxes with glow berries to breed them.

Heads-Up: Tamed foxes don’t follow like wolves, but they’ll stick around if leashed or trusted.

12. Donkeys

Donkeys are sturdy plains or savanna mobs, like horses but with chest-carrying powers. Tame them by right-clicking to ride until hearts appear—no food needed. Heal them with wheat, hay bales, sugar, apples, or golden apples. Hay bales work best.

Tame A Donkey
Donkeys

Quick Tip: Equip a chest on a donkey for extra storage on long trips.

13. Zombie Horses

Zombie horses are creepy, undead mounts you can only get with commands in vanilla survival. If you spawn and tame one (like with /summon minecraft:zombie_horse ~ ~ ~ {Tame:1b}), heal them with a Splash Potion of Healing or Arrow of Healing, just like skeleton horses.

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Zombie Horse

Heads-Up: They’re not practical pets since they don’t spawn naturally, but they’re cool for show.

Universal Healing Option

For pets not on this list, like foxes or parrots, or if you’re out of specific food, grab a Splash Potion of Healing. It works on most tamed mobs, boosting their health right away. Brew them with a water bottle, nether wart, and glistering melon slices. Watch out near undead mobs like skeleton horses, since the potion flips for them.

Quick Tip: Foxes and parrots need these potions since they don’t have special healing foods.

General Tips for Pet Care in Minecraft

  • Be Prepared: Carry meat, fish, or potions when you’re out with pets to fix them up during fights.
  • Safe Spot: Build pens or shelters to keep pets safe from creepers or skeletons, even when they’re healed.
  • Breed Extras: Wolves, cats, horses, and llamas can breed, so make backups to avoid losing your faves.
  • Stay Updated: Minecraft changes a lot, so check patch notes (like 1.21.6 or newer) for new pet tricks or items.

Keeping your Minecraft pets healthy means they’ll stick with you through every adventure. Whether you’re battling in the Nether, checking out lush caves, or building epic bases, a little care goes a long way. Grab your supplies, protect your buddies, and keep exploring Minecraft in 2025!

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