What do cuddly kitty cats and hooting owls have in common? Off the top of our heads, we can think of three similarities:
1) they’re both animals.
2) they’re both nocturnal.
3) they both have really pretty round eyes that glow in the dark.
Yeah, we know, finding comparisons between birds and mammals is kind of like grasping at straws! That said, these animals do sometimes have one other thing in common—they look alike.
Don’t believe us? Just take a gander at this illustration and tell us if you can find the cat hidden among the sea of owls:
JD
We promise—there really is one in there….
You need Help?! Go to next page …
Still, don’t see it? Don’t feel bad; it took us nearly 10 MINUTES (we know, embarrassing, right?!) to solve this particularly difficult puzzle.
Because we don’t think it’s necessarily fair to leave you with such a headache-inducing conundrum, we thought it would only be right to provide you with a few of helpful hints:
1) The hidden feline has the same fur color as the owls’ feathers.
2) The cat’s mouth is open in the same diamond shape as her high-flying friends.
3) She is wearing an ornate collar around her neck.
Ok, maybe the clues aren’t the most helpful ones in the world, but they are better than nothing. Now that you have them to add to your mental toolkit, recommence your kitty search party!
Helpful techniques for solving brain teasers
Still having trouble locating that missing cat? If so, perhaps it’s time that you start rethinking the way you approach these mind-numbing visual puzzles. Check out these expert tips via Brilliant:
1) The best way to identify a visual incongruity is to first identify the visual patterns in the puzzle. Pay attention to the color palette used in the illustration, as well as the general shapes and sizes of the subjects. Oftentimes, zeroing in on these details will quickly give you the answer to the question posed.
2) Rotate the illustration, if needed. Once in a while, these brain teaser artists will play tricks on you by flipping the entire concept on its head, so to speak.
3) One trick we like to do is slice the illustration into halves, and sometimes quarters. This works particularly well if the visual puzzle is bothering your eyes. You can also zoom in on parts of the photo (though we always kind of feel like we’re cheating when we do this). Either way, have some eye drops ready—some of these brain teasers sure can be tiring.