Find the Cat #101: 8x8 Grid Puzzle (Medium)
mediumTap a square: ✕ (ruled out) → 🐱 (cat) → clear
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.
- The Yellow region has only one open square left: R8C5. Put a cat there.
- Wherever the cat in the Red region ends up, it rules out R1C3, R2C3, R3C3, R4C3, R6C2 and R6C4. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Teal region ends up, it rules out R5C6, R5C7 and R6C3. Cross those squares out.
- Wherever the cat in the Pink region ends up, it rules out R1C6, R2C7, R3C7, R4C6 and R6C6. Cross those squares out.
- The Teal region has only one open square left: R5C4. Put a cat there.
- The Red region has only one open square left: R7C3. Put a cat there.
- The Orange region has only one open square left: R6C1. Put a cat there.
- The Blue region has only one open square left: R4C7. Put a cat there.
- The Pink region has only one open square left: R2C6. Put a cat there.
- The Purple region has only one open square left: R1C8. Put a cat there.
- The Green region has only one open square left: R3C2. 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 16 squares. It can be solved in 11 deduction steps using "wherever it goes" eliminations.
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.