Find the Cat #124: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (8)Orange (10)Yellow (10)Green (10)Teal (12)Blue (3)Purple (1)Pink (10)

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.

  1. The Purple region has only one open square left: R5C7. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R3C4. Cross that square out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R7C6 and R8C4. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R1C8, R2C8 and R3C8. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in row 1 ends up, it rules out R2C2. Cross that square out.
  6. The Orange and Blue regions can only use rows 7 and 8, so rows 7 and 8 are already spoken for. Cross out R7C1, R7C2, R7C3, R7C4, R8C1, R8C2 and 1 more.
  7. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R1C1, R2C1 and R3C1. Cross those squares out.
  8. Wherever the cat in row 1 ends up, it rules out R2C3, R2C4 and R2C6. Cross those squares out.
  9. Row 2 has only one open square left: R2C5. Put a cat there.
  10. The Blue region has only one open square left: R8C6. Put a cat there.
  11. The Orange region has only one open square left: R7C8. Put a cat there.
  12. Wherever the cat in row 3 ends up, it rules out R4C2, R4C3 and R6C3. Cross those squares out.
  13. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R1C2. Cross that square out.
  14. The Teal region has only one open square left: R1C3. Put a cat there.
  15. Row 3 has only one open square left: R3C2. Put a cat there.
  16. The Pink region has only one open square left: R6C1. Put a cat there.
  17. The Red region has only one open square left: R4C4. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Purple region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Purple) to 12 squares. It can be solved in 17 deduction steps using grouped row/column/region deductions.

If a row and a color both have only two open squares and share them, those two lines are locked together -- neither can use squares anywhere else.

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.

More medium puzzles