Catdoku level 398 answer and walkthrough

The level 398 board

Place one cat in every row, every column and every colored patch. No two cats may touch, not even diagonally.

Level 398 answer

1. Row 1: column 6, in the yellow patch
2. Row 2: column 1, in the sky patch
3. Row 3: column 7, in the rose patch
4. Row 4: column 3, in the mint patch
5. Row 5: column 5, in the lilac patch
6. Row 6: column 2, in the peach patch
7. Row 7: column 4, in the aqua patch

How to solve level 398, step by step

After every placed cat, cross out the rest of its row, its column, its patch and the four corner squares around it. The steps below assume you do (the in-game auto-paws assist does it for you).

1. Every free square of the yellow patch sits in row 1, so the yellow cat must come from there and the rest of row 1 can be crossed out. A cat at row 1, column 7 would leave the rose patch with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. Cat 1 of 7: the yellow patch is down to a single free square at row 1, column 6, so its cat settles there.
2. Cat 2 of 7: the rose patch is down to a single free square at row 3, column 7, so its cat settles there.
3. Every free square of the aqua patch sits in row 7, so the aqua cat must come from there and the rest of row 7 can be crossed out. A cat at row 5, column 1 would leave column 2 with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. A cat at row 5, column 4 would leave the lilac patch with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. A cat at row 6, column 1 would leave column 2 with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. Column 1 only has free squares inside the sky patch, so that patch's cat is spoken for and its squares outside the line can be crossed out. A cat at row 4, column 4 would leave column 3 with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. A cat at row 5, column 2 would leave column 3 with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. A cat at row 6, column 4 would leave row 5 with no home for its cat, so cross that square out. Every free square of the lilac patch sits in column 5, so the lilac cat must come from there and the rest of column 5 can be crossed out. Cat 3 of 7: the aqua patch is down to a single free square at row 7, column 4, so its cat settles there.
4. Cat 4 of 7: the only free square left in row 6 is column 2, so the cat goes there.
5. Cat 5 of 7: the mint patch is down to a single free square at row 4, column 3, so its cat settles there.
6. Cat 6 of 7: the sky patch is down to a single free square at row 2, column 1, so its cat settles there.
7. Cat 7 of 7: the lilac patch is down to a single free square at row 5, column 5, so its cat settles there.