Find the Cat #158: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)
mediumTap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear
Find the 8 hidden cats. Each row, each column and each colored region holds exactly one, and cats never sit on neighboring squares, diagonals included.
- 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.
- The Teal region has only one open square left: R8C7. Put a cat there.
- The Pink region has only one open square left: R1C6. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R6C8. Cross that square out.
- The Green region has only one open square left: R6C5. Put a cat there.
- The Blue region has only one open square left: R7C1. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R2C4 and R3C2. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R2C2, R4C3 and R5C3. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R3C4. Cross that square out.
- The Purple region has only one open square left: R4C4. Put a cat there.
- The Orange region has only one open square left: R2C3. Put a cat there.
- The Yellow region has only one open square left: R5C2. Put a cat there.
- The Red region has only one open square left: R3C8. Put a cat there.
About this puzzle
Where to start: the Teal region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Teal) to 13 squares. It can be solved in 12 deduction steps using "wherever it goes" eliminations.
A useful habit is to mark squares you have ruled out. Tap a square once for a cross and twice for a cat -- crosses cost nothing and make later deductions much easier to spot.
This is a variation of the Star Battle family of grid puzzles, sometimes also called Queens-style puzzles, with cats in place of stars.