1Check region A
region A has only one remaining candidate: row 1, column 4. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 8 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 1 cell. 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: 1 · B: 5 · C: 13 · D: 9 · E: 7 · F: 1. 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.
region A has only one remaining candidate: row 1, column 4. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 1. Place one cat, then exclude 8 other cells.row 2 has only one remaining candidate: row 2, column 2. Every other cell is excluded by earlier placements or deductions. Place the cat here.
Before step 2. Place one cat, then exclude 2 other cells.row 3 has only one remaining candidate: row 3, 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 4 has only one remaining candidate: row 4, 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: r1c4, r2c2, r3c5, r4c3, r5c1, r6c6.