Yes — beginners absolutely can befriend ocelots in 'Minecraft' without cheats, but there’s a catch: modern versions changed the mechanics, so it’s not exactly “taming” the way older tutorials describe. In recent updates (since the Village & Pillage era) ocelots and cats are separate mobs. You can still win an ocelot’s trust by offering raw fish — raw cod or raw salmon — but feeding an ocelot won’t transform it into a
pet cat like it used to. Instead, once it accepts fish and hearts appear, it becomes trusting and won’t flee from you as easily.
Practical steps: go to a jungle biome where ocelots spawn, craft or hold raw fish in your hand, sneak (crouch) so you don’t alarm it, and approach slowly. Right-click (or use the interact button) to feed fish until the hearts appear. If you want an actual pet cat that follows you and sits, find cats in villages or witch huts and tame those with raw fish — they’ll become true tamed cats you can leash, sit, and breed. Also, if you want to move a trusting ocelot, boats and fences are handy: you can coax it into a boat or corner it with blocks; leads only attach to tamed cats, not wild ocelots.
Beginners should practice patience and fishing so you don’t run out of fish, and enjoy the small joys — a trusting ocelot will add atmosphere to your jungle base and keeps
Creepers wary if you later get a tamed cat. I always find the hunting-and-sneaking part oddly relaxing, like a tiny stealth mission in 'Minecraft'.