Cat vacuum dreams

September 28, 2021 10:00 AM

I am the proud new owner of two kittens and totally in love, but now want to make sure house stays super-clean. (This is one reason I put off animals for a long time, b/c I kinda got ick'ed out visiting dirty homes of people with cats and dogs. I am now realizing that cats are actually very clean, but their humans were kinda dirty.)

My place is hardwood with rugs all over. I have a Roomba-like vacuum but I don't feel like it's very powerful. So now I'm looking for a proper vacuum, but some of the best-rated ones (like Dyson) range from $500 to $800!! This seems bananas to me, but I'm wondering if that price is worth it for vacuums like that? Please educate me.

posted by namemeansgazelle to Home & Garden (37 answers total)

Dysons are indeed expensive, but we've found them to be worth the money, especially for animal fur. We're in a similar boat as far as flooring - nearly all of the house is hard surfaces except for some area rugs. The Roomba takes care of most of it without any issues and we use a Dyson cordless vac as needed (one of these, I forget which). It wasn't as expensive as the bigger ones, but it really does the trick and holds a charge well.
posted by jquinby at 10:05 AM on September 28, 2021 [4 favorites]

Back in like 2013 or so, we inherited an old Dyson Animal corded vacuum from friends with a sheddy dog who were upgrading to the newest version. IT WAS THE BEST VACUUM I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. Our wood floors looked so much cleaner than when we were using our old Shark. We passed our Dyson along to other pet-owning friends when we moved across the country, replaced it with a Eureka, and have regrets. Currently saving back up for a Dyson.

I've heard the bigger difference is that the cordless vacuums are not as powerful as the corded ones, particularly for Dyson, so we will be looking at that aspect carefully as we choose what model to buy, but we will be getting a Dyson again.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:12 AM on September 28, 2021

I used to have a few friends who worked as housekeepers, and their companies all provided them with Dyson vacuums for their gigs if the client didn't have their own vacuum. And they basically all concluded that once they had enough money, they'd totally buy one for themselves. So if you can afford it, I'd say go for it.
posted by coffeecat at 10:15 AM on September 28, 2021

I've had 2 Shark Navigators over a period of about 15 years and no complaints. They are easy to dissemble and clean which is necessary to get all of the fur off the roller sometimes. My old Shark lasted about 10 years and I definitely still have life in this one even though I abuse it a bit by making it clean up dried cat puke. If you don't want to pony up for a Dyson I'd get a Shark. If you want to wait another little bit they always go on sale for Black Friday and you can probably get one for $100ish.
posted by possibilityleft at 10:16 AM on September 28, 2021 [7 favorites]

Oh I did want to say that I have never lived in a house with hardwood, all carpets, but more cats, so hopefully it's a good comparison.
posted by possibilityleft at 10:18 AM on September 28, 2021

I have the same situation with the pets and floors and I have a Miele vaccuum, it was definitely that expensive (though I bought it used). It is very powerful, very useful, all the parts are replaceable, and I expect to own it forever. It's been ten years and it's the same as when I got it. Worth every penny.
posted by epanalepsis at 10:35 AM on September 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I got a refurb Shark Navigator on eBay 3-4 years ago and I'm happy with it, it was ~$80. I have a cat and also abuse mine by vacuuming up home improvement debris (drywall bits, sawdust). It was a Wirecutter recommendation, FWIW.
posted by momus_window at 10:40 AM on September 28, 2021

I have a cat.
Passionately, the Dyson Animal cordless vacuum changed my life. This refurbished version is $350.

I had a Roomba previously, and my version was terrible at picking up cat hair on hardwood floors. It just blew it around and never really sucked it up effectively. I had a shitty handheld dustbuster vacuum that wasn't very strong, and the battery life quickly deteriorated.

The Dyson works GREAT on hardwood, and most of all, it is easy and a joy to use. Not having to go plug in the vacuum, and replug when I go to a different part of the apartment is seriously life changing. I vacuum way more frequently now because of the ease, and I've converted several friends to Dyson as well. The Animal version comes with a vacuum head attachment that's great at picking up cat hair on upholstered furniture. Seriously... I, like, even vacuum my stairs regularly with this thing.
posted by blueberrypuffin at 10:47 AM on September 28, 2021 [7 favorites]

I have a Dyson Animal model (quite old and I can't find at this point which version) I got refurb'd. I think any good vacuum (which will cost several hundred dollars) with an upholstery attachment would be a great addition to your Roomba. I don't have any issues even tho mine is a cordless. It's never died on me and certainly never failed to vacuum, tho I have only lived in smaller apartments, I have had the thing for 8+ years. I also like the cordless aspect, it just makes it so much easier for me.

One thing to keep in mind is cleaning out your vacuum on the regular - and to be quite frank (shoulder length or longer) human hair was a bigger problem than cat hair, the animal handles both well but does require more frequent cleanings should someone have long hair, as it tends to gum up the works.
posted by love2potato at 11:04 AM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I an co-signing the Dyson stans in this thread, and also endorsing the Dyson Animal cordless vacuum 1000%. I used it when pet sitting for a friend, and then bought one on Black Friday at a pretty good discount. It's basically replaced the need for any other other vaccuum, and I use it so much more because I don't have to drag it out of a closet and plug it in. It's lightweight but powerful. I can do the kitchen while I'm waiting for a cup of coffee to reheat. I can easily reach the litter that gets kicked behind the toilet. It's fantastic.
posted by kimdog at 11:07 AM on September 28, 2021 [4 favorites]

Hi, household of four cats plus one dog here. Buy the Dyson. It's totally worth it. I have had mine for a decade, it's really good at sucking up hair, (I used to have a Roomba and it regularly got clogged up), and the service for repairs is excellent.
posted by Kurichina at 11:12 AM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh hi, as a fellow person with pets, hardwood floors, and rugs. I concur with others who've suggested Dyson, ALL the way. Partner and I paid something like $400 for a Dyson corded vacuum about 14 years ago, and it's still going strong; we've had to replace the cyclone chamber thingy once because the plastic retaining clip holding it to the body snapped off, but that was nbd. It's not the animal-specific model, but it still handles hair from our cats (we currently have 3) without any trouble. The only thing it's ever choked on was a large chunk of wood/drywall that we should have been using a shop vac for anyway.

We also have a handheld rechargeable Dyson that obviously has less power than the corded upright, but is still great for sucking up the inevitable scattered litter from when the cats jump out of the box. I am not a brand loyalist for its own sake, like, ever, but our Dysons have been well worth the upfront expense.
posted by aecorwin at 11:29 AM on September 28, 2021

Miele all the way! - I have hardwood floors (with old wonky parts and uneven gaps etc) and sometimes pets - and lots of dust and hair in any case (and allergies). I bought a Miele 9 years ago and it's going super strong.

Sorry to go against many of the posts, but my experience is that Dyson vacuums are over-designed and over-priced - I find them clunky and plasticky as well as awkward to empty. A cannister Miele with traditional bags is much easier to manoeuvre and switch between hardwood and rug. You can also extend to reach ceilings etc. When I worked as a cleaner/chambermaid, we only used Miele or Henry Hoovers....
posted by sedimentary_deer at 11:47 AM on September 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

Enthusiastically joining the Dyson train. I love my cordless Dyson so much. It disgusts me how much cat hair it picks up, knowing thats what it pulled out of my carpets. The one time I thought it died I was about to insta-buy a replacement that day, despite how expensive they are. (Turns out it was just the battery that died, and I was able to buy a replacement off Amazon and fix it myself).
posted by cgg at 11:51 AM on September 28, 2021

We have a cordless Dyson Animal and it works great but like sedimentary_deer I dislike its plasticky-ness. I just know down the line some little piece is going to break, rendering the unit inoperable and turning the whole thing into unrecyclable eWaste. Love to see a Dyson-Miele comparison.

I am now realizing that cats are actually very clean

Oh-HO! That depends on the cat (its age MAY be a factor).
posted by Rash at 12:19 PM on September 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I've got a Shark Apex and three cats (two of whom shed so much I think they violate conservation of mass). It's fine. It's very powerful, has lots of bells and whistles. Dealing with the crevices in tucked upholstery is a bit of a chore, I guess.

This is one of Shark's more expensive models, and it edges into Dyson's pricing territory, but there are much more expensive vacuum cleaners out there, like Miele.
posted by adamrice at 12:25 PM on September 28, 2021

I'll just say that I found my Dyson corded clunky as hell and no marvel at all for cleaning. It's not bad on dust, but the canister just can't hold enough cat hair to be practical in my house of usually four cats.
posted by wotsac at 12:59 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

My shark corded something-or-other (it had the largest canister of the shark vacs) has proven to be substantially less clumsy and pretty darn good at picking up dirt.
posted by wotsac at 1:00 PM on September 28, 2021

Dyson has a refurb outlet with their older models but they are usually out of stock.

Nordstrom Rack claims to have a V10 Animal Refurb for $300.
posted by kschang at 1:15 PM on September 28, 2021

I don't feel like you necessarily need a super powerful vacuum for pet hair if you run the robot vacuum every day, particularly with hardwood. What you will probably need is something to get cat hair off upholstery so either a good handheld vac or good tools. For that reason I prefer canister vacuums because using the tools won't pull the vacuum over (as can happen with some uprights). I also like a vacuum with a HEPA filter so pet dander isn't circulated back into the air. Bags mean there's less likelihood of releasing tiny particles of crud back into the air when emptying the vacuum. I don't really have any recs though because the vacuum we have for our hardwood and carpets is very old and completely uncool and does a great job anyway. It's the 15 year old version of this Kenmore HEPA canister vac. It has a powered upholstery brush which is absolutely key to having a pet-hair-free life.

It's embarrassing to say this, but we have an elderly dog who occasionally secretly decides she no longer needs to go all the way outside to pee, and I've got to get down on my hands and knees on the carpet to find the suspected spot. I can attest to the fact that our ancient Sears vacuum that we've abused mightily still does a great job picking up pet hair. We have a double coated white dog and long and short haired black cats, so we get some of every kind of hair.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:23 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Nthing the Shark Navigator. I think it was a Wirecutter recommendation at the time I got my original one a decade ago, and that one is still going strong at my old house with a ton of dog hair. I have another one at my new place with a ton of cat hair, and it's great.
posted by limeonaire at 1:42 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have had the supposedly great Miele C3 and I am now enthusiastically TEAM DYSON! I have the cordless V10 Absolute. Every time I take it off it’s holder I get a rush of oxytocin. It is just such a pleasure to use, so lightweight, so maneuverable, so powerful and easy to empty. I have a long-haired dog and this thing makes dog hair a total nonissue. It is probably my most prized possession. Truly a joy.
posted by HotToddy at 1:51 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Oh I just now saw the request for a Dyson-Miele comparison. I can provide that! I had the C3 power line which is the canister with the power head. Pros: Its bagged, so cleaner to empty. And that is the end of the pros! Cons: canister is constantly turtling or getting hung up on furniture, corners, etc.; power head loses suction several times each session and you have to flip the power off and back on to regain it; takes up a lot of room to store; pieces are heavy and clunky to put on and take off; I have a bad back and shoulder and have to bend over to pick up the canister which is uncomfortable whereas the Dyson is at shoulder height on my wall; moving the Miele anywhere means having the canister in one hand and the heavy power head in the other, very awkward; and the power head is way too big and doesn’t swivel around like the Dyson so there are tons of places I can vacuum now that I wasn’t able to before.

The Dyson is plastic, it’s true. Probably it will die before the Mile would have. I don’t care. I will happily buy another Dyson when this one dies. It’s totally worth it to me.
posted by HotToddy at 1:59 PM on September 28, 2021

Whatever you buy, make sure it can (on its own or via hose attachments) reach all the way under your furniture. Hardwood, even with rugs, will cause pet hair to congregate in massive amounts behind literally every object you put on your floor.

Even with vacuuming under things, I strongly suggest pulling everything away from the walls and cleaning behind/under at least twice a year. This includes your fridge and stove unless they are built into your cabinetry. Trust me on this one.
posted by ananci at 2:01 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'd suggest putting the litter box and the cat food bowls on large trays, it keeps a remarkable amount of debris contained to those areas.
posted by nickggully at 2:15 PM on September 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

I've never used a Dyson, so can't compare, but I have two cats, one of them long-haired, and I have a Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat and Dog and I love it. I have carpet and it gets everything up off the carpet the vast majority of the time. (Occasionally if a bit of cat fluff is really ground into the carpet I have to pick it off with my fingers first, but that's an unfortunate given on carpet.) It's bagless, which is a bit of a downside, but the canister comes out and apart really easily for emptying and cleaning, so I can put up with the little bit of dust floating back out when I empty it. It's not so heavy that lugging it upstairs and back down is a struggle for me, either (though YMMV).

Whichever vacuum you pick, definitely put the cat food and litter box on trays or mats (litter-trapping mats are a godsend, but the occasional bit of litter will get tracked caught between toebeans and get tracked out, alas).
posted by sailoreagle at 3:38 PM on September 28, 2021

My 4 year old Shark outperformed my housemate’s similarly aged Dyson (not Animal) on my hardwood and throw rugs with two cats and a dog. I don’t understand the hype.
posted by OrangeVelour at 4:19 PM on September 28, 2021

We have three cats.

We have a Shark upstairs where it is carpeted, and it is great, though a bit clunky and chunky and with an annoying cord.

We have a Dyson V8 (or 9, I don't remember) downstairs where it is tiled (which we also use on the stairs, which are carpeted), and it is great, though can sometimes run out of juice sooner than we might like (if it's on powerful mode).

They are both good, but the only reason we got the Shark was because it was SUPER on special (something like a 50% markdown) and we figured it couldn't hurt to try. We're glad we did.

Next vacuum will be whatever Dyson or Shark we can afford that is compatible with the space. Both great vacuums.
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:38 PM on September 28, 2021

I've got 2 cats and a Shark Rocket (corded). I love it; its motor is super powerful. Corded means more power and no worries about holding charge. It's got a filter made of spongey stuff that you can handwash with some dish soap.

The only con is that the motor is on the loud side, so I wear headphones or earplugs while I use it. As many others here have said, it's more or less retired my normal-size vacuum cleaner.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:22 PM on September 28, 2021

I'm a cat-owner and have had a Shark Navigator for several years. It was my first "real" vacuum purchase after only using a Swiffer and a hand vac for my years of apartment living, and it's fine. I've used Dysons before and I think they're both fine. The Dysons feel nicer, as they should for that much more money. But frankly, in my experience they both vacuum the dirt, and I haven't had any issues with the Shark aside from finding the dirt canister gross to empty.

We also have a bagged Miele which I love for our fully carpeted upstairs, but think that would probably be overkill for you if I'm getting an accurate vibe about your place.

If price is a concern and you're coming from a Roomba-like vacuum (which does okay with cat fur on hard floors, not so great on rugs), I think you'd be satisfied with the Shark Navigator. If you have Bed Bath & Beyond coupons I think you can still use them on that.
posted by wondermouse at 6:13 PM on September 28, 2021

I have three cats and hardwood floors. My last live-in partner had a Dyson upright and it did not hold a candle to my Miele. I bought the Miele in 2010-ish and it works BEAUTIFULLY to this day. I have never had it serviced or repaired. The Miele canister vacs also use bags which I LOVE. IME, the bagless vacs can spread dust everywhere in a charmless little fwomp as you empty the canister. With a bag, you just throw the whole kit and kaboodle away.

The very best Miele is the Miele Cat and Dog but it is pricey. I have the lowest-end Miele canister and, again, it’s been an absolute workhorse for 11 years.
posted by kate blank at 6:18 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

We have 2 cats and have lived in pretty tight quarters over the years, so keeping clean is important to us. Our current setup: robot vacuum runs 1x per day, every weekday; Miele canister vacuum for a thorough clean 1-2x per week; and (this is key) small handheld vacuum for upholstery and random cat messes (spilled food, catnip, etc.) as needed. The robot vacuum is a godsend and great for keeping things generally tidy. I love our canister Miele, mainly because I love a good canister vacuum. In my experience, they have better suction, last longer, and bags are just nicer to deal with than a giant canister of cat fur and whatever else. Finally, the handheld--if you like clean, then this will keep you sane. We use ours a few times every day (!) for fur on the couch, kitty litter paw prints, etc.
posted by ailouros08 at 5:58 AM on September 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Add me to the anti-Dyson faction. We have a cordless v6 Fluffy we got in 2017 because of our two super-shedding long-haired cats. While we loved how easy it was to grab, and it did do a great job at first, that only lasted about 3 years. Then a small rubber part developed a tiny hole that made the main attachment stop working. Dyson said it wasn't repairable. I did find an aftermarket replacement part on Ebay and swapped it out, but that only held up for a short time. But there’s no good reason Dyson couldn’t repair it if they wanted to. I’d justified the high price to myself thinking it would be worth it over the long term, and instead, because it seems like Dyson purposely prevents repairability, I’m out of luck.
posted by daisyace at 12:13 PM on September 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

We have the Target-exclusive Shark Navigator, positively reviewed by Consumer Reports when I was researching this decision a few months ago, and it blew our previous 4-year old Shark lift-away thing out of the water in suction (I broke it doing something stupid; not a knock on quality). It's definitely the most powerful vacuum I've ever used. We have 4 cats and a dog.

If money was no object and I could convince my canister-hating husband to budge, I'd probably have gone with Miele.
posted by rawralphadawg at 4:18 PM on September 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

Wow, maybe I'm cheap, but we got a Bissell canister and it works very well for pet filth control. I don't think you need to spend hundreds of bucks. You just need to clean regularly.
posted by Miko at 8:59 PM on September 29, 2021

Any vacuum cleaner that you like and use a lot should do! I've had a Shark and my brother swears by his Miele; I currently have two cats and a cordless Dyson stick vacuum that I love. I've also lived without a vacuum cleaner and it was OK if harder. You're absolutely right that cats, while usually very clean, seem to cover everything with their fur even if they don't seem to shed much. Frequent vacuuming into a clear canister where I can see gross results makes me so happy -- and I'm someone who has traditionally hated to vacuum! And congrats on your kittens because they are truly such a pure joy!!
posted by smorgasbord at 9:07 PM on September 29, 2021

FWIW, seems Newegg has some refurb Dyson V8 Animals for about $300.
posted by kschang at 10:06 PM on October 2, 2021