Find the Cat #112: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)
mediumTap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear
Can you place all 8 cats? One per row, one per column, one per color -- and keep them at least one square apart in every direction.
- 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 Yellow region has only one open square left: R3C8. Put a cat there.
- The Orange region has only one open square left: R1C7. Put a cat there.
- The Purple region has only one open square left: R5C6. Put a cat there.
- The Green region has only one open square left: R7C5. Put a cat there.
- The Teal region has only one open square left: R6C1. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R2C4 and R4C3. Cross those squares out.
- Column 4 has only one open square left: R4C4. Put a cat there.
- The Pink region has only one open square left: R2C2. Put a cat there.
- The Blue region has only one open square left: R8C3. Put a cat there.
About this puzzle
Where to start: the Yellow region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Yellow) to 15 squares. It can be solved in 9 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.
Every puzzle on this site has exactly one solution that can be reached by pure deduction. If you find yourself guessing, look again for a region or line with only a few open squares left.