Find the Cat #105: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)

medium

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

0 / 8 cats · 0:00
Red (1)Orange (13)Yellow (13)Green (8)Teal (9)Blue (9)Purple (4)Pink (7)

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 8x8 grid with 8 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 Red region has only one open square left: R8C2. Put a cat there.
  2. Wherever the cat in the Green region ends up, it rules out R6C3, R6C4 and R6C5. Cross those squares out.
  3. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R2C5 and R3C3. Cross those squares out.
  4. Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R4C1. Cross that square out.
  5. Wherever the cat in column 7 ends up, it rules out R1C8 and R2C8. Cross those squares out.
  6. Wherever the cat in column 8 ends up, it rules out R6C7 and R7C7. Cross those squares out.
  7. The Green, Teal and Pink regions can only use columns 1, 3 and 4, so columns 1, 3 and 4 are already spoken for. Cross out R1C3, R1C4, R2C3, R2C4 and R3C4.
  8. Wherever the cat in the Purple region ends up, it rules out R2C6, R3C1, R3C7, R3C8, R4C5 and R4C6. Cross those squares out.
  9. Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R5C5. Cross that square out.
  10. Wherever the cat in the Blue region ends up, it rules out R1C1. Cross that square out.
  11. Wherever the cat in column 3 ends up, it rules out R4C4 and R5C4. Cross those squares out.
  12. Column 4 has only one open square left: R7C4. Put a cat there.
  13. Wherever the cat in the Yellow region ends up, it rules out R1C6, R3C6 and R5C7. Cross those squares out.
  14. The Purple region has only one open square left: R3C5. Put a cat there.
  15. The Blue region has only one open square left: R1C7. Put a cat there.
  16. Row 2 has only one open square left: R2C1. Put a cat there.
  17. The Teal region has only one open square left: R5C3. Put a cat there.
  18. The Yellow region has only one open square left: R6C6. Put a cat there.
  19. The Orange region has only one open square left: R4C8. Put a cat there.

About this puzzle

Where to start: the Red region is a single square, so its cat is already decided. Its 8 color regions range from 1 square (Red) to 13 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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