Find the Cat #242: 10x10 Grid Puzzle (Hard)

hard

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

0 / 10 cats · 0:00
Red (20)Orange (9)Yellow (10)Green (4)Teal (14)Blue (9)Purple (1)Pink (17)Brown (8)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 Purple region has only one open square left: R10C8. Put a cat there.
  2. The Green region has only one open square left: R1C9. Put a cat there.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R3C10, R4C10, R5C10, R6C10 and R7C10. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R4C7 and R6C6. Cross those squares out.
  5. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R9C3. Cross that square out.
  6. Wherever the cat in the Grey region ends up, it rules out R2C6 and R3C6. Cross those squares out.
  7. Wherever the cat in row 4 ends up, it rules out R3C3, R5C1, R5C2 and R5C3. Cross those squares out.
  8. Wherever the cat in row 5 ends up, it rules out R4C6. Cross that square out.
  9. Wherever the cat in column 6 ends up, it rules out R5C5 and R6C5. Cross those squares out.
  10. The Yellow and Blue regions can only use rows 8 and 9, so rows 8 and 9 are already spoken for. Cross out R8C1, R8C3, R8C4, R8C5, R8C6, R8C7 and 2 more.
  11. The Teal region has only one open square left: R7C6. Put a cat there.
  12. The Red region has only one open square left: R5C7. Put a cat there.
  13. The Grey region has only one open square left: R2C5. Put a cat there.
  14. Wherever the cat in the Orange region ends up, it rules out R4C1. Cross that square out.
  15. Wherever the cat in the Brown region ends up, it rules out R6C3 and R6C4. Cross those squares out.
  16. Column 3 has only one open square left: R4C3. Put a cat there.
  17. The Orange region has only one open square left: R3C1. Put a cat there.
  18. The Brown region has only one open square left: R6C2. Put a cat there.
  19. The Blue region has only one open square left: R9C4. Put a cat there.
  20. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R8C10. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Purple region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 10 color regions range from 1 square (Purple) to 20 squares. It can be solved in 20 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.

More hard puzzles