Meowdoku Online — Free Cat Logic Puzzles

What is Meowdoku? The rules in one minute

Meowdoku is a cat placement logic game: read a board of colored regions, then find the only arrangement that satisfies every restriction. You do not fill it with numbers or perform arithmetic. Each cat is a decision about a row, a column and a region at the same time. That makes a small board surprisingly rewarding to solve.

The Meowdoku rules have three parts. Put exactly one cat in each row and each column. Put exactly one in every colored region, even when that region bends around another. Finally, cats cannot touch horizontally, vertically or diagonally: sharing a corner is too close. Cats several squares apart on the same diagonal are allowed; this is not chess queen movement.

This is a one-star puzzle in the Star Battle family, with placement reasoning also familiar to Queens players. The phrase cat sudoku can describe several different games, so always check the rules. Here, colors define regions; repeated numbers and arithmetic sums are not involved.

Whiskerdoku begins with manageable 4×4 opening boards. The Journey then develops through 6×6, 7×7, 8×8 and 9×9 puzzles. A larger grid offers more possibilities, but region shapes and the deductions they require also affect difficulty. On a finished 9×9 board, you have placed nine cats, each with its own row, column and color.

How to play Meowdoku online

Start with certain exclusions instead of guesses. Select X and mark squares that cannot contain a cat. After placing a cat, exclude the rest of its row, column and color, then its neighboring squares. Keep those marks visible: a board with a few careful X marks is easier to read than one full of possibilities.

1. Mark what is impossible. Check existing cats first. A diagonal neighbor is unavailable even if its row, column and color are different.
2. Count the remaining candidates. A region with one available square is forced. A region whose candidates all share a column reserves that column, even before you know the exact square.
3. Look for single-cell regions. They give a certain opening move. Clean up its exclusions and scan again for newly forced positions.

Level 8 illustrates the second step. After the starting cat and bottom-right single are accounted for, brown can use R3C5 or R4C5. Both choices occupy column 5, so cross the other colors there without choosing between the brown squares yet. Read the illustrated controls guide and Meowdoku solving tips for the next techniques.

Free to play — no ads, no account, no timer

Is Meowdoku free? The browser puzzles on Whiskerdoku are free to play, with no advertising network, payment gate or required account. Open a board and begin. The separate official Meowdoku app has its own store listing, advertising and purchase terms; our browser experience does not change those terms.

Normal play has no countdown or deadline. The elapsed clock simply records your attempt, so you can think at your own pace. Choose an optional timed challenge only when you want that extra pressure. You can also decline optional Google Analytics and continue playing. The privacy page explains local saves and hosting statistics.

300+ puzzles: daily challenges and the journey

Journey contains exactly 300 fixed puzzles: 20 source-checked Meowdoku opening boards followed by 280 original Whiskerdoku boards. Daily challenges and free practice provide additional boards, which is why the overall collection is described as 300+. The browser Journey and the original app’s level directory are separate collections.

Work through chapters, revisit a skipped puzzle or try an optional goal. Chapter rewards show how many more clears you need. The maximum Journey board is 9×9; difficulty also grows through more demanding region interactions and key-step reasoning, rather than endlessly adding rows.

Your unfinished boards, X marks, completed levels and personal records save in this browser. Come back on the same device to continue. Clearing site data, switching browsers or using another device will not carry that local save across. For original app numbers and their corresponding sources, open the Meowdoku level answers directory.

Stuck on a level? Guides, walkthroughs and a solver

First decide which board you are solving. For a Whiskerdoku game, Hint directly adds a proved batch of X marks and explains why those squares are empty. Each attempt has three Hints. Assist has a separate allowance of one and places a single cat. Undo lets you reconsider a move; it does not restore spent help.

For the original app, search the level directory and compare the region shapes before following a number. Selected Meowdoku walkthroughs include source frames, diagrams and written deductions. Begin with Level 1 or the Level 8 column lock.

If your layout differs, enter its regions and known cats in the board solver. Check the transcription first. Revisit the rules or strategy tips when a deduction feels unclear.

More than Meowdoku: cat sudoku and other logic puzzles

Looking for cat sudoku online or a cat sudoku game? The name alone does not tell you which puzzle you will get. Some games replace Sudoku digits with cat pictures; those still require a complete set of symbols in each row, column and box. Meowdoku instead asks for one cat per line and colored region, with a no-touch restriction.

Our cat sudoku guide explains that distinction before you choose a game. If you enjoy reserving rows and eliminating candidates, try the related reasoning in Queens or Star Battle. If you prefer number patterns or shaded-picture deductions, compare Sudoku and nonograms in games like Meowdoku. Choose the kind of thinking you enjoy, then learn its exact rules.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

Consult the publisher’s listings for the original app, and the linked puzzle references for related rules. Our level guides retain their tutorial sources and board comparisons. These references support the explanations; they are separate services with their own terms.