1Check row 6
row 6 has only one remaining candidate: row 6, column 6. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 3 other cells.6 × 6 intro
Try the puzzle yourself, then explore how the deductions build.
This original 6×6 board has 6 connected regions and 2 fixed cats. The smallest region is A, with 2 cells. Start by ruling out every other cell in each fixed cat’s row, column and region, plus its immediate neighbors.
The verified route below uses 4 forced placements and 0 candidate-elimination steps after the givens. Region sizes: A: 2 · B: 8 · C: 7 · D: 9 · E: 7 · F: 3. These are observations about this board, not a guarantee that a smaller region always contains the next move.
Read each diagram in sequence. Cats and × marks in the before-state come from earlier deductions. Green outlines identify the current observation. Open the final answer only when you want the spoiler.
row 6 has only one remaining candidate: row 6, column 6. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 3 other cells.row 3 has only one remaining candidate: row 3, column 1. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 2. Place one cat, then exclude 3 other cells.row 2 has only one remaining candidate: row 2, column 5. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 3. Place one cat, then exclude 1 other cells.row 1 has only one remaining candidate: row 1, column 3. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 4. Place one cat, then exclude 0 other cells.The final cats satisfy every row, column and region quota, with no edge or corner contact.
Cat positions: r1c3, r2c5, r3c1, r4c4, r5c2, r6c6.