First pass
Start with the tightest region
Scan for regions with very few cells or several blocked lines. They reveal forced cats and create useful exclusions elsewhere.
Meowdoku Tips
Strong solving comes from combining constraints instead of checking each one in isolation.
A practical playbook
Strategy
Scan for regions with very few cells or several blocked lines. They reveal forced cats and create useful exclusions elsewhere.
Cross-check
Cross-check rows and columns
A cell can look open inside its region but still be impossible because its row or column already has a cat. Recheck all three memberships before placing.
Diagonal pressure
Use diagonal pressure
A confirmed cat blocks the four corner-touching cells. Those diagonal exclusions often reduce a neighboring region to one legal position.
Answer audit
Compare with an answer responsibly
When stuck, use a level page to compare the final coordinate sequence. Return to the board and identify which constraint makes that coordinate valid.
When a board stalls
Three constraints, one clear answer
Pause before guessing. Revisit the region with the fewest open cells, then ask which row, column, or neighboring cat removes each remaining option.
01
One cat in every row and column
A completed board has exactly one cat in each horizontal row and each vertical column. Once a cat is fixed, every other cell on those two lines can be marked unavailable.
02
One cat in every colored region
Each colored area also contains exactly one cat. Small or narrow regions are useful starting points because they often have fewer legal cells.
03
Cats cannot touch
Cats may not share an edge or a corner. A placed cat therefore excludes all surrounding cells, including the four diagonal neighbors.