Diving into the World of Not Enough Pets
If you have ever looked at your tamed wolf or cat and wished there was more variety than the same handful of skins, the Not Enough Pets mod is exactly the breath of fresh air your Minecraft world needs. Originally designed to backport and expand the feline family from version 1.14, it has grown into a full-fledged companion overhaul that touches cats, dogs, parrots, and even the humble mooshroom. Whether you are playing on an older server or simply want to fill your base with a rainbow of furry and feathered friends, this mod delivers dozens of new textures, subtle behavior tweaks, and a surprising amount of configuration depth.
What Exactly Does Not Enough Pets Add?
At its core, Not Enough Pets takes the limited pet selection of vanilla Minecraft and multiplies it many times over. Instead of the standard ocelot, tuxedo, and Siamese cats, you gain access to over twenty distinct feline breeds, many of which were introduced officially only in later updates. The mod also adds more than a dozen dog varieties, backports parrots all the way to version 1.7.10, and even gives mooshrooms a chance to spawn with a rare brown mushroom texture. It is a celebration of companion animals, built for players who love collecting and customizing their in-game menagerie.
One of the most appealing aspects is how seamlessly it integrates into existing worlds. Tamed cats retain their original skin instead of randomizing upon taming, ocelots still spawn in jungles and look like true wild ocelots, and all other cat breeds appear naturally in villages. Dogs, on the other hand, spawn as strays in those same villages, while wolf variants roam the wilderness. Parrots follow the same logic, with the classic scarlet macaw and blue-and-yellow macaw joined by cockatiels, African greys, and even a rainbow lorikeet. The result is a living, breathing ecosystem that never feels out of place.
A Closer Look at the Cat Varieties
The feline roster is where Not Enough Pets truly shines. Every cat texture from Java Edition 1.14 has been backported, including the beloved Jellie (based on GoodTimesWithScar’s real-life cat), the elegant white cat, the fluffy Persian, and the mischievous black cat. Beyond those, the mod incorporates community-submitted designs such as Juno, Willie, Lily, Boo, Blitzkrieg, Princess, and Cocoa, each with its own personality. Here is a snapshot of what you can expect:
- Ocelot – the untamed jungle dweller
- Tuxedo – classic black-and-white, inspired by Jeb’s cat Newton
- Red Tabby, Siamese, British Shorthair, Calico, Persian, Ragdoll
- White Cat, Jellie, Black Cat, Brown Tabby, Gray Tabby (otherwise unused)
- Custom skins: Juno, Willie, Lily, Boo, Winslow, Blitzkrieg, Princess, Cocoa
All of these can be summoned with a simple command if you prefer not to hunt them down naturally. The mod even provides spawn eggs starting from version 1.4.0, though for precise control over age and ownership you can use the /summon command with the appropriate entity name and NBT tags.
Dogs and Parrots Get Equal Love
Dogs are no longer limited to the standard wolf texture. With Not Enough Pets, you will encounter a delightful range of breeds, from the story-mode-inspired Blocco to real-world favorites like the golden retriever, Siberian husky, pug, beagle, and border collie (based on Angelo from Final Fantasy 8). Custom submissions such as the brown wolf, cream wolf, and white terrier add even more personality. These strays appear in villages alongside cats, though a bit more rarely, so exploring every settlement becomes a rewarding treasure hunt.
Parrot enthusiasts are equally spoiled. If you are running a version older than 1.12, the mod backports all five vanilla parrots—scarlet, hyacinth, great green, blue-and-yellow, and cockatiel—and then adds custom variants like the golden, white, black, rosy-faced, dusky, African grey, galah, and the vibrant rainbow lorikeet. You can configure which mob sounds the parrots mimic, including those from other mods, and adjust how far you can fall before a parrot dismounts from your shoulder.
Smart Features and Configuration
Not Enough Pets does not stop at new skins. It includes a host of quality-of-life improvements that make living with pets more enjoyable. Tamed cats now have dyeable collars, and you can reduce the frequency of pet noises if the constant meowing, barking, or squawking becomes overwhelming. A configurable teleport buffer lets you control how close a following pet must be before it warps to you, and you can even disable following entirely for any species. Ocelot-type cats no longer avoid water, and non-ocelot cats drop string upon death, adding a small but logical gameplay tweak.
For those who enjoy fine-tuning their experience, the mod offers settings to increase or decrease the distance at which a parrot dismounts, and you can decide exactly which sounds your feathered friend will imitate. Swamp huts always spawn with a black cat, adding a touch of witchy atmosphere, and the rare brown mooshroom variant gives mushroom island explorers something extra to search for.
If you are looking for a hassle-free way to add Not Enough Pets to your game, the foxygame.net launcher provides a convenient, flexible, and modern solution. From its intuitive menu, you can download the mod directly and let the launcher handle all the installation details, so you spend less time tinkering with files and more time enjoying your new companions.
Compatibility and Important Notes
Before diving in, keep a few technical details in mind. This mod is built exclusively for Minecraft versions 1.6.4 through 1.12.2 and will not receive updates for newer releases. The 1.6.4 version has a known gradle building issue, so further patches are unlikely unless someone resolves that problem. If you use Doggy Talents, be aware that the two mods are generally incompatible because they both alter wolf behavior. However, you can disable Not Enough Pets’ wolf variant by setting "Enable NEC version: Dog"=false in the configuration, which may allow them to coexist. Custom skin submissions are currently closed, but the existing library is already enormous.
Summoning specific breeds is straightforward. For Minecraft 1.11 or 1.12, use /summon notenoughpets:ocelot_nep ~ ~ ~ {Owner:"YourName", CatType:5, Age:0} (replace with wolf_nep or parrot_nep and the corresponding type integer). Older versions follow a similar pattern with different entity name formats, as detailed in the mod documentation. The Age tag accepts negative values for younger animals and positive values for breeding cooldowns, with -24000 representing a newborn and 6000 a recently bred adult.
Why Not Enough Pets Deserves a Spot in Your Modpack
Not Enough Pets transforms the way you interact with animal companions in Minecraft. It respects vanilla mechanics—cat taming, creeper avoidance, and wolf loyalty all remain unchanged—while injecting a staggering amount of visual diversity. Whether you are building a cozy cottage filled with calico cats and a golden retriever, or you want a shoulder full of parrots that mimic your favorite mob sounds, this mod delivers without overwhelming your game. The backporting of modern features to older versions is a gift for players who prefer the feel of earlier Minecraft editions but crave the creature comforts of later updates.
With its thoughtful configuration options, community-driven skins, and seamless integration into village and jungle spawning, Not Enough Pets proves that sometimes the smallest details make the biggest difference. So go ahead, tame that Persian, befriend a husky, and let a galah ride shotgun on your shoulder—your blocky world will feel more alive than ever.