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The three cats are likely among the strongest distractions in the picture. Animals naturally attract visual attention because people instinctively notice faces, eyes, paws and movement-related shapes. Even in a still image, the viewer may spend more time examining the cats than studying the background around them. Their fur also creates complex patterns of light and dark. Those patterns can make small nearby objects harder to distinguish. Anything positioned close to a paw, tail or patch of fur may be incorrectly interpreted as part of the animal.
The cats also add humor to the scene, which can make them even more distracting. While the human characters may appear involved in some kind of frustrating search, the cats seem perfectly comfortable. They look as though the bed belongs to them and everyone else is simply sharing their territory. This creates a small visual story before the viewer even begins searching for the hidden items. Humor captures attention, and attention directed toward the cats is attention temporarily taken away from the puzzle itself.
The husband’s expression creates another distraction. Human faces are among the first things most viewers notice in an image. If a person looks angry, confused, irritated or amused, the brain immediately tries to understand the emotion. That response is useful in everyday life because reading facial expressions helps people understand social situations. In a visual puzzle, however, it becomes another way of redirecting attention. The viewer may spend valuable time studying the husband’s reaction instead of the small details surrounding him.