Minecraft wiki entry for Cat, associated text: Untamed cats spawn in villages as long as there are at least five claimed beds within 48 blocks and at most four cats within a 97×17×97 box centered around the spawn position. Cats that spawn with the creation of a village do not despawn, however any additional cats that spawn within a village may despawn. A village cat spawns with a random appearance, however black cats may only spawn during a full moon.‌[Java Edition only][verify] The spawning of cats in villages is a separate process from the natural spawning of passive mobs, and thus is not affected by the Creature mob cap.