Find the Cat #243: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

Tap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (5)Orange (10)Yellow (8)Green (1)Teal (11)Blue (7)Purple (22)Pink (14)Brown (14)Grey (8)

Every row, every column and every color region needs exactly one cat -- but no two cats may touch, not even diagonally. This puzzle is a 10x10 grid with 10 colored regions.

  • One cat in every row and every column.
  • One cat in every color region.
  • Cats can’t touch — not even diagonally.

Step-by-step solution

Squares are written as R<row>C<column>, counting from the top-left. Cross out the squares listed, and place a cat wherever a step says so.

  1. The Green region has only one open square left: R9C1. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R1C7. Cross that square out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R2C9. Cross that square out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Grey region ends up, it rules out R1C2, R2C2, R3C2, R4C3, R5C3, R6C2 and 1 more. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R1C3 and R3C4. Cross those squares out.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R5C5. Cross that square out.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R2C5. Cross that square out.
  8. The Red and Blue regions can only use rows 1 and 2, so rows 1 and 2 are already spoken for. Cross out R2C3, R2C4, R2C7 and R2C10.
  9. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R3C3. Put a cat there.
  10. The Grey region has only one open square left: R5C2. Put a cat there.
  11. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R4C5, R4C6, R4C9 and R4C10. Cross those squares out.
  12. The Teal region has only one open square left: R6C6. Put a cat there.
  13. Row 2 has only one open square left: R2C8. Put a cat there.
  14. The Orange region has only one open square left: R4C7. Put a cat there.
  15. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R7C10, R8C10 and R10C9. Cross those squares out.
  16. Column 10 has only one open square left: R10C10. Put a cat there.
  17. The Purple region has only one open square left: R7C4. Put a cat there.
  18. The Blue region has only one open square left: R1C5. Put a cat there.
  19. The Pink region has only one open square left: R8C9. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Green region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Green) to 22 squares. It can be solved in 19 deduction steps using grouped row/column/region deductions.

Look for a color that sits entirely inside one row or one column. Its cat must be in that line, so every other square in that line can be crossed out.

Stuck? Open the step-by-step solution below -- each step names the row, column or color involved, so you can use it as a hint and then finish the puzzle yourself.

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