Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar looks cute until the game starts asking you to think like two cats, one thief, and one underpaid lab technician at the same time. The safest way through is not to brute-force every door. Read each room as a state machine: what must be split, what must be fused, what must be printed, what must be charged, and which cat has to be seen by a security light.
This walkthrough is built for players who want to finish the story, avoid the worst puzzle stalls, and come back for a clean 100% run. It covers the main route from Test Subject Processing through the Orphan Devourer finale, then organizes achievements, Quantum Shards, Data Chests, Lore Documents, profile hacks, robot mice, and customization cleanup into practical checklists.
Best Route Order
The game is mostly linear, but the Main Elevator and clearance upgrades turn earlier areas into cleanup zones. Use this order for a first clear, then do collectibles before or after the finale depending on how much you want to backtrack.
| Route Stage | Main Areas | What You Learn | Cleanup Warning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | Test Subject Processing, Construction Site | Movement, pounce, vents, weights, first keycard, early robot mice, first profile hack setup. | Some doors, chests, and roof shards require later clearance or Main Elevator access. |
| Dual Event Orientation | Heisenberg Tests, Item Sharing Tests, Robotics Tests, Debriefing | Split/fuse logic, simultaneous buttons, weights, phase gates, deprint fields, robot cleaner timing. | Grab obvious shards, but do not panic over every locked chest yet. |
| Early facility | Plumbing Department, CEO Office, West Storage | Chevron and Moon keycard routing, Surface Access, moving platforms, first higher-clearance blockers. | Mark Level 2 and Level 5 chests for later. |
| Systems Control | Central Maintenance, Systems Control West, Systems Control East, Security Monitoring, Robotics Systems, AI Core | Security lights, laser lockdowns, dog avoidance, quantum processors, AI Core Pair Interface. | The Main Elevator becomes your main backtracking tool after AI Core. |
| Power Control | Power Control West, Power Control East, four Flow Control substations | Power banks, batteries, cells, overload cells, elevator and platform power routing, Clearance Level 1. | Several collectible routes need charged batteries from nearby rooms. |
| Research chain | Maintenance Hub, Research Hub, Separation Lab, Observation Lab, Energy Flow Control | Separation fields, duplicated batteries/keycards, Sector A/B/C puzzle loops, Clearance Levels 2 and 3. | Research Hub has many backtrack-only collectibles; keep notes by sub-area. |
| Rift chain | Rift Research, Data Backup Repository, Rift Lab Zero | Rifts, security-light phasing through rifts, Clover access, The Crux, Clearance Levels 4 and 5. | Before final production, use Level 5 to reopen earlier cleanup routes. |
| Final route | Archive Department, Old Laboratory, Production & Shipping, Orphan Devourer | Heavy lore collection, rift teleport, dog destruction via teleport alignment, final firewall sequence, escape. | Past the point-of-no-return route there are no more normal collectibles; postgame reload supports cleanup. |
Core Puzzle Rules
Most hard rooms are combinations of the same few ideas. When you get stuck, identify which rule the room is testing before touching random buttons.
| Mechanic | What It Usually Means | Common Mistake | Reliable Habit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split and fuse | One cat holds a plate, lever, light, or safe position while the other moves. | Fusing too early and losing the state that opened a door. | Before fusing, ask whether a pressure plate, lever, or light still needs a body. |
| Simultaneous buttons | The room expects both forms to be positioned before the final unlock. | Dragging both cats to the exit before preparing the second side. | Place items first, then park each cat near its button. |
| Weights, batteries, mugs, and keycards | Printed items either hold plates, power sockets, open keycard doors, or become split copies. | Taking an item through a field that deletes or changes it. | Watch whether a field allows fused cats, split cats, whole items, or colored split items. |
| Security lights | The cat standing in the light makes the other cat phase through highlighted objects. | Moving the cat out of the light before the other cat has fully crossed. | Keep the light-holder still until the other cat reaches a safe lever, checkpoint, or return route. |
| Cleaner bots | They chase trash, ink, or loose objects and can become moving platforms. | Trying to outrun a dog or reach a vent without repositioning the bot. | Use trash chutes, ink levers, or dropped weights to place the bot where a jump starts. |
| Power banks and cells | Power is being transferred, not merely switched on. | Charging the wrong side and trapping a cat behind a field. | Trace power from source to bank to door, then move the cats before draining it again. |
| Rifts and teleport | Later puzzles care about alignment, light state, and which side of a barrier each cat occupies. | Teleporting while standing in a security light and landing somewhere you did not intend. | Step out of the light when you need a normal teleport, step into it when you need phasing. |
Opening: Test Subject Processing
The opening is your movement tutorial and your first cleanup trap. It introduces vents, pouncing, weights, checkpoint lights, keycards, profile hacking, piggy banks, and robot mice before the game gives you its larger dual-cat logic.
At the start, you can safely work on the easy action achievements: meow repeatedly for Chatty Cat, chase your tail for Endless Runner, and use the licking emote for Clean As A Whistle. Once you reach an ink printer, you can also track enough inky footprints for Picatso. None of these require story progress, so doing them early keeps the late cleanup list smaller.
Move through the construction route, use vents for cash, and treat robot mice as pounce lessons. If you see a mouse hole, look for a shelf, pipe, hanging panel, or box stack above it. The pounce angle matters more than speed. In the office route, hack computers as soon as you can; profile hacks become part of the achievement cleanup later, and missing one means returning with the Main Elevator.
The first big route item is the printed keycard. Use it to enter the break room for an early Lore Document, then continue through the processing route until you unlock the dual-event power. Once Mittens can split, the game’s real grammar begins: one cat maintains the room state while the other carries the solution forward.
Dual Event Orientation
Dual Event Orientation is a three-part exam: Heisenberg Tests, Item Sharing Tests, and Robotics Tests. Each test adds one core rule, then the Debriefing mixes them with Concierge AI story progress.
Heisenberg Tests
Heisenberg is mostly about simultaneous pressure and controlled fusing. If a field blocks split cats, fuse before crossing it. If two pressure plates need bodies, split after the field. The first puzzle teaches the pattern: one cat opens access to a weight, the weight holds one plate, and the cats stand on the remaining plate or buttons.
For the later Heisenberg puzzles, do not carry the weight all the way to the end without checking whether it is supposed to hold a middle plate. A common stall happens when both cats reach the exit side but the door logic behind them is no longer held open. Leave the object where it preserves the room state, then move the cats.
Item Sharing Tests
Item Sharing introduces keycards, color gates, deprint fields, and awkward handoffs. The important trick is that the item does not always belong to the cat who printed it. Sometimes one cat prints a keycard through a field, the other cat uses a lever or vent to reach it, and both cats reunite only after the keycard has changed the room.
When a keycard must be placed into one slot and later moved to another, plan the return path first. Dropping the card temporarily is often correct, especially when a cat has to pass through a phase gate or cross a field that would remove the item.
Robotics Tests
Robotics is where cleaner bots stop being background clutter. If the bot steals a weight, that can be the solution rather than a failure. One puzzle wants you to print a weight quickly before the robot grabs it; another uses the robot’s movement to trigger plates or create a jump route. Watch the bot’s target, then place ink, trash, or an item where you want the bot to stand.
Before leaving the Robotics office, bring the printed weight back down when the route allows it. It helps wake and reposition a cleaner bot for a robot mouse and a shard route.
Debriefing And Concierge AI
Debriefing turns the test mechanics into story progression. Push box carts to build jumps, move batteries between sockets to open vents, use both forms to pry hatch doors, and hack every office computer you can reach. Meeting Concierge AI unlocks Made An Enemy. The route then leads toward the Plumbing Department, and the first real backtracking notes begin: some chests and collectibles are visible before you have the clearance to open them.
Plumbing Department And CEO Office
Plumbing Department is a keycard-routing chapter. Your main objective is Surface Access, but it needs two separate keycards. Print the Chevron keycard from the Aaron Johan office, use it to open the left-side route, move the battery so the trapped cat can escape, then use the tube route to reach the workshop that prints the Moon keycard.
Before leaving, take the Chevron keycard back to the lift-side office route and hack what you can. This is also where the first profile-hack achievement can happen if you have gathered enough computer or document progress. The Surface Access tube then leads to a Data Chest puzzle that uses two batteries and a cleaner bot. If the chest will not open, stop looking for a hidden button and solve the battery count first.
CEO Office and West Storage focus on moving platforms, office hacks, and later-clearance cleanup. West Storage has a shard tied to platform timing: one cat rides while the other uses nearby pipes or ledges to line up. In the CEO route, take note of Level 5 doors and computers you cannot fully use yet. They matter after Rift Lab Zero upgrades your clearance.
Systems Control Walkthrough
Systems Control is the first long difficulty jump. It teaches security lights, laser lockdowns, dog sightlines, quantum processors, and the AI Core interface. Move slowly here. A single cat in the wrong light can make the other cat phase into danger or strand an item behind glass.
Central Maintenance And Systems Control West
In Central Maintenance, climb above Concierge AI, hack the accessible office, and use the AI Core elevator route. In Systems Control West, security rooms repeatedly ask you to separate jobs: one cat holds a lever or light while the other passes lasers, reaches a lockdown control, or pulls a battery. If you trigger a lockdown, look for the reset button near the entrance path instead of trying to force the same crossing.
The arcade office is worth slowing down for. It contains profile-hack progress, a Data Chest route, and the Co-op Squared achievement when both forms interact with the powered arcade machine. It is easy to walk past because the room looks like optional cash cleanup, but it is part of the 100% route.
Systems Control East And Security Monitoring
Systems Control East introduces dogs as puzzle hazards. Getting caught once is part of the route in the first dog section, but after that you should treat dogs as line-of-sight blockers. Cleaner bots, trash chutes, vents, and security lights are usually the intended bypass.
Security Monitoring gives you the key phasing rule: the cat standing in the light lets the other cat pass through highlighted purple obstacles. This is also where laser courses become stricter. If a green shortcut tube appears after a lockdown, it is normally a reset route, not the clean solution. For collectibles, remember that security lights can also place one cat behind shelves or glass while the other lines up with a shard.
Robotics Systems And AI Core
Robotics Systems combines dogs and lasers. Use security lights to move one cat through restricted paths, disable lockdowns from the safe side, and use quantum processors when the route wants a dog disabled rather than avoided.
In AI Core, break the firewall levers before using the Pair Interface. The interface sequences can vary, so do not rely on a fixed string from a guide. Watch the on-screen prompts for LT, RT, or both, and complete all required sequences. After the AI Core is resolved, Made A Friend unlocks and the Main Elevator gives you repeat access to earlier regions. This is the first good time to do a small cleanup pass, but full cleanup is still easier after all clearance levels are available.
Power Control Walkthrough
Power Control is a battery and power-transfer chapter. The game is no longer asking only whether a door is powered. It is asking where the power came from, whether a battery is charged, whether a bank needs one bar or several, and whether moving that power will trap a cat.
Power Control West
Power Control West begins with simple battery sockets, then expands into floating platforms, power banks, and battery-charged shortcuts. When you see a platform that rises with a battery, check for two things before riding it: whether the battery must be removed later, and whether the second cat has a route to reunite if the platform moves.
This is also the best place to start costume achievement planning. Customization stations can trigger achievements such as Yes Chef, Unce unce unce unce, and I Put A Spell On You, but some outfit pieces appear only after later progress. Buy what you can, then finish the sets later rather than farming blindly.
Power Control East And Flow Control
Power Control East introduces power cells and four Flow Control substations. Treat each substation as a power-routing puzzle, not a maze. Your goal is to move every required power block into the final bank without closing your own exit.
| Substation | Core Idea | Stall Point | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Charge several cells, then transfer power into the second bank. | A cat gets trapped in the top-left or bottom-right enclosure. | Use the security light before the final transfers so the cat can exit after moving power. |
| B | Use pressure plates, a printed battery, and upper/lower banks. | The battery is left on the wrong plate after the glass opens. | Move the battery back through the shortcut and use it again to free the outside cat. |
| C | Two batteries and bridge walls are used to move power upward. | Players forget the top-left battery or leave power in the wrong bank. | Collect every battery before the final transfer and feed power to the upper bank. |
| D | Colored cat positioning and a charged battery create the final center-bank transfer. | The orange cat is outside the power-bank area when the route closes. | Put the orange cat in the center before slotting the battery that changes access. |
After the substations, overloaded cells become the main tool. They can power empty cells, raise platforms, charge batteries, and open late doors. At the Clearance Level 1 computer, break all firewall levers first. As with the AI Core, the button sequence can vary, so follow the screen rather than memorizing a guide’s input list.
Research Hub, Separation Lab, And Observation Lab
The Research chain is where 100% players start losing track of names. You will move through Research Hub, Separation Lab Sectors A/B/C, Research Hub North, Hub 02, Observation Lab, Observation Lab West, and Energy Flow Control. Keep your own notes by sub-area, because many collectibles are not in the same room as the puzzle that unlocks them.
Separation Lab
Separation Lab turns one object into two colored objects. The rule is consistent: colored batteries, keycards, and pressure plates normally belong to the matching cat. If a whole battery must become two batteries, separate it, move each color through its allowed route, and fuse later only when you need a whole battery again.
Sector B contains Scratch At The Door, the achievement for getting locked in during a puzzle. Do this before solving that room correctly. Make a quick checkpoint note, perform the lock-in setup, then solve the puzzle properly. If you leave it for cleanup, you may spend more time rebuilding the room state than actually earning it.
Observation Lab And Energy Flow Control
Observation Lab builds on duplicated items, security lights, and conveyor timing. When a keycard goes through a tube or conveyor, track the cat who can protect it from being destroyed or shifted by the light state. Energy Flow Control then returns to power routing and ends with another clearance upgrade. Observe And Report is tied to raising Clearance Level 3.
Research Hub also has Agent M, a customization achievement for a Men-in-Black-style outfit set. If the station does not offer every part yet, continue the story and return later. Do not assume the achievement is bugged until the relevant hub and customization access have opened.
Rift Research And Rift Lab Zero
Rift Research adds a new failure mode: teleporting to the wrong place because you forgot what the light is doing. If a cat is standing in a security light, rift movement and phasing can behave differently from a normal fuse teleport. Step out of the light before teleporting when you need standard alignment.
In Data Backup Repository, the main goal is moving a data chip back to Concierge AI. Use batteries to open vents, power lights, and route one cat through rifts. This area also contains collectible paths that look like side rooms but are easy to revisit from the Main Elevator later.
Rift Lab Zero is the path to The Crux and the late clearance chain. Use Clover access carefully: sometimes a fob must stay on the floor to keep two doors open while the cats occupy different sides of a room. Break all firewall levers before each clearance computer, then complete the prompted interface. Dreams Of The Other Side triggers when you visit The Crux, and Level 5 clearance arrives shortly after the later CEO Office return.
Point Of No Return, Archive Department, And Old Laboratory
The game clearly routes you toward a point of no return before the final production section. That warning matters for pacing, but it is not a reason to panic. After completing the game, you can load back for cleanup. Still, if you are already holding a clean collectible checklist, this is a good moment to handle high-clearance doors, profile hacks, and chest routes before committing to the ending stretch.
Archive Department and Old Laboratory are lore-heavy. Slow down in the filing room, classrooms, playroom, tent room, and lab areas because many Lore Documents are placed on desks, boards, levers, books, and notes rather than inside obvious chests. The Old Laboratory also grants rift teleport behavior that becomes central to the finale.
One Mystery Solved is tied to learning the truth during the Archive Department route. If you care about story order, read the documents before pushing every lever. If you care only about achievements, still collect them now; the Lore Document achievement is one of the lowest-completion cleanup tasks on Steam.
Production & Shipping And Orphan Devourer
The final route has four major pieces: Ether Ore Processing, Operations, Robotics Production, and Power Generation before the Orphan Devourer sequence. The new emphasis is teleport positioning. Dogs that were once avoided are now destroyed by placing the two cats on opposite sides or matching vertical positions, then teleporting through the target.
In Operations, do not carry keycards and access fobs too far without understanding which door they are holding. Sometimes a fob must be dropped near a cage or cubicle so the door state stays useful while one cat crosses behind a dog. In Robotics Production, use phase platforms and security lights to set up teleport kills; if a dog keeps catching you, the missing step is usually an upper/lower alignment point, not faster movement.
Power Generation is more straightforward: climb, vent, hack computers, print keycards, lower bridges with simultaneous buttons, and follow the production route to the last airlock. At Orphan Devourer, disable the final firewall by finding every lever around the roof, ramp, balcony, and gated area. The final interface sequence may vary. Complete the prompted inputs, scan, approach the machine, then escape across phase platforms and collapsing paths. One Way Ticket and Tickets, Please are tied to this ending route, though the completion achievement may appear after the game saves or reloads.
Achievement Roadmap
There are 29 achievements. The cleanest plan is to divide them into story, action, customization, and collectible work. Steam global percentages confirm that the story achievements are much more common than the full collectible clears, so expect the last few percent to be profile hacks, mice, shards, chests, and lore.
| Group | Achievements | Best Time To Do Them |
|---|---|---|
| Story route | Pulled Apart By Forces, Made An Enemy, Out Of The Frying Pan, Made A Friend, Clearance Granted, Gotta Keep’em Separated, Observe And Report, Dreams Of The Other Side, One Mystery Solved, One Way Ticket, Tickets, Please | Earn naturally by clearing the main route and every clearance interface. |
| Simple actions | Chatty Cat, Clean As A Whistle, Endless Runner, Picatso, Not That Kind of Game, Bat At Stealth, Good At Cat | Start immediately; finish object-knock and jump counts over the full run. |
| Specific actions | *hacker voice* I’m In, Co-op Squared, Scratch At The Door | Hack early profiles in Plumbing, power the arcade in Systems Control, and intentionally lock yourself in during Research Hub Sector B Puzzle 2. |
| Full-run actions | It Is The Way Of Things, Oh Hai I Upgraded Your Ram | Pounce every robot mouse and hack every profile. Keep a checklist because both span many areas. |
| Customization | Yes Chef, Unce unce unce unce, I Put A Spell On You, Agent M | Use customization stations as they unlock. Some required items appear later, so revisit stations after major hub progress. |
| Collectibles | Ooh, Shiny!, A Little Light Reading, Da-Da-Da-Daaaaa! | Finish after Level 5 clearance or postgame reload, when every backtrack route is available. |
Collectibles Cleanup Plan
The collectible categories are simple, but the routes are not. Quantum Shards usually require both cats to line up with matching fragments at the same time. Data Chests usually require one or two batteries. Lore Documents often require profile access, late clearance, or simply noticing a desk or book in a story-heavy room.
| Collectible Type | What To Track | Where Players Miss Them | Cleanup Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum Shards | Two matching fragments, one for each cat. | High ledges, vents, hanging panels, platform timing, and security-light routes. | If you see only one fragment, stop and search for the other cat’s alignment spot before leaving. |
| Data Chests | Battery count, battery charge, and nearby route item. | Rooms where one battery is used for a door and another is hidden behind a vent or robot setup. | Do not leave a chest room until you know whether it wants one battery, two batteries, or higher clearance. |
| Lore Documents | Books, open notes, hacked computers, profile documents. | Archive Department, Old Laboratory, CEO Office, DES Operations, Research Hub desks. | After Level 5, revisit locked offices and hack every remaining computer before final cleanup. |
| Robot mice | Mouse hole plus a pounce position above it. | Offices where the pounce ledge is a shelf, vent, cleaner bot, or moving platform. | When you uncover a mouse hole, solve it immediately unless the pounce route clearly needs later clearance. |
| Customization chests | Clearance level and route back to the chest. | Level 1-5 keypads in old hubs, bathrooms, vents, gyms, and lab side rooms. | Use the Main Elevator after Level 5 and sweep by area instead of by item name. |
Recommended Cleanup Sweep
- After AI Core, use the Main Elevator only for quick nearby pickups. Do not spend hours trying to open high-clearance chests yet.
- After Clearance Level 3, clean Research Hub and Observation Lab notes that require separation fields or security lights.
- After Clearance Level 5, revisit Test Subject Processing, DES Operations, CEO Office, Power Control East, Research Hub, Data Backup Repository, and Rift Lab Zero.
- After finishing the story, reload and use the point-of-no-return state to catch anything you skipped.
- For the last achievements, compare your missing category: shards, lore, chests, mice, or profile hacks. Do not rerun the whole game blind.
Common Stalls And Fixes
| Problem | Likely Cause | Try This |
|---|---|---|
| A door is open for one cat but not the other. | You moved the cat holding the plate, lever, light, or item state. | Rebuild the state, send one cat through, then use a vent, tube, button, or fuse point to reunite. |
| A keycard or battery disappears. | You crossed a deprint, dephase, or separation field in the wrong object state. | Leave the item on the floor, split/fuse first, or use the field intentionally to create the colored version. |
| A security-light puzzle feels impossible. | The wrong cat is standing in the light, or the light-holder moved too early. | Swap cats, keep the light-holder still, and move the other cat all the way to a safe lever or checkpoint. |
| A firewall computer will not finish. | One firewall lever is still active. | Search above, behind, and through vents. The last lever is often on a roof, balcony, ramp, or gated side room. |
| You cannot reproduce a written LT/RT sequence. | Interface sequences can vary. | Use the on-screen prompts for your run. Treat guide sequences as examples, not guaranteed codes. |
| A collectible appears unreachable. | It needs a later clearance level or a Main Elevator return. | Mark the area and return after Level 5 or postgame reload. |
Final Notes Before 100%
Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar is friendliest when you keep an area checklist. A single missed profile computer, robot mouse, or late-clearance chest can look like a bug if you return without knowing which mechanic the room expected. The Main Elevator is the cleanup backbone, and the postgame state gives you room to finish missed collectibles after the ending.
If you only want to finish the story, follow the route order and focus on the major mechanics: split/fuse, security lights, power transfer, separation fields, rifts, and firewall interfaces. If you want 100%, do not leave achievements until the very end without tracking categories. Action achievements can be farmed almost anywhere; collection achievements require methodical room-by-room cleanup.
Sources & Credits
Official game information and screenshots are from the Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar Steam page and Abandoned Sheep. Route, achievement, and collectible notes were cross-checked against readable community walkthrough references during article preparation.