Vacuum: The Terrifying and Evil Monster!

[plan]

Or Vakoom, as the elder kitty says in those "Dear Kitten" commercials.

Anyway, I was compelled to make this post after going to the closet and taking out the vacuum...and seeing Bud bolt for the safety of my bedroom before I even turned the thing on. I found it funny that he now runs on sight rather than after he hears it.

Typically, he retreats to my bedroom and watches warily from my bed as The Terrifying And Angry Monster Vakoom conducts its Inhalation of Death around the apartment. How do your cats respond to this horrifying monster?

 

[betsygee]

Inhalation of Death.

 

My cats have mostly got used to it.  A couple of them will run off but then they remember that it's not that horrible of a beast and they come back around.  

 

[Columbine]

Shadow doesn't care unless I accidentally slam it into his chair. Asha runs to the other end of the house, and preferably to a different floor too.

As the labrador has always been scared of it, it's called the Nasty Noisy in this house :lol3:

 

[mingking]

VaKOOM!! I love the way the elder kitty says it too.

Ming got used to it. He used to jump onto my bed and watch but now, he just watches from where ever he's sitting and sometimes, I have to poke him with the sucker to make him move. 

 

[catlover73]

My two youngest cats are not scared of it at all unless they are startled while they are sleeping.  Casey my 1 1/2 year old will just watch me and Apollo my 3 year old actually follows me around.  If they are startled they run and hide under the bed for a few minutes.

Sonny my 5 year old and Starbuck my 9 year old both run under the bed and hide until it has been turned off for at least 30 minutes.

 

[dennis47]

Midnight would actually try to climb onto my canister vac! She never quite succeeded, but it was sure a lot of fun to watch! Cracks me up even to this day!

 

[pompy]

Felix doesn't really mind it much. He'll move away if it gets too close, but usually he stays a little distance away and watches me vacuum. 

 

[plan]

 
My two youngest cats are not scared of it at all unless they are startled while they are sleeping.  Casey my 1 1/2 year old will just watch me and Apollo my 3 year old actually follows me around.  If they are startled they run and hide under the bed for a few minutes.

Sonny my 5 year old and Starbuck my 9 year old both run under the bed and hide until it has been turned off for at least 30 minutes.

That's awesome that you have cats named Starbuck and Apollo. Now all you need is a Kat, a Hotdog and a Chuckles, and you've got a whole Cylon-fighting squad.

 

[rickr]

Yeah, my cats don't dig the vacuum cleaner either.  For a long time I cleaned with a Dyson - it's LOUD.  Whenever I rolled it out, they scurried.  Recently, I switched over to a Miele; it is much quieter and less annoying. The cats don't seem to mind the Miele quite as much.  Sometimes they even sleep thru vacuuming.  But the hand-vac - that's a different story.  When Archie sees that, he runs.  

 

[Kat0121]

Bailey, Lilith and Henry are terrified of it. Sophie couldn't care less about it. I'm surprised that she doesn't try to sit on it and ride around the room on it as I push it. 

 

[dennis47]

 Midnight, I figure, saw the vac as a potential sparring partner. It was, well, unique to watch the wildcat in her come out. At times, I thought I was going to pass out from oxygen depravation from laughing at that so hard!

 

[lmj1954]

I vacuumed today and Lulu just sat on the couch and watched. The other 2 cats wanted nowhere near it. Maybe I need a Roomba, LOL, you see videos of cats

riding it. I tell you what makes all 3 of my cats bolt like the wind, if I have a big roll of tape and it makes the noise as you pull it, they hate it! 

 

[dennis47]

Got a friend who received a Roomba for Christmas about 2 years ago. Told me that within the first 2 minutes of turning it on, his orange tabby Sunkist (real original there, Clyde!) jumped on top of it and was, for all intensive purposes, using it as his own personal taxi! Too funny!

 

[betsygee]

Got a friend who received a Roomba for Christmas about 2 years ago. Told me that within the first 2 minutes of turning it on, his orange tabby Sunkist (real original there, Clyde!) jumped on top of it and was, for all intensive purposes, using it as his own personal taxi! Too funny!

That's funny! We have a Roomba. The cats have learned to tolerate it, but none of them have tried to ride on it, that's for sure!

 

[dennis47]

Guess it all depends on the cat! I know my sweet Midnight would try if she had ever seen one. Sure do miss her...

 

[zenciljim]

My cat runs for the hills haha

 

[DreamerRose]

I had the vacuum out today. Mingo watches it carefully, full of trepidation. He backs up as it gets close, and if it gets too close, he swats at it. I also cleaned a spot on the carpet with a spray bottle of water and a bottle of Resolve. Mingo swatted that water bottle to death. He killed it.

 

[dennis47]

Ha ha ha! What a cute, funny story, DreamerRose! Midnight would attack any 20-32oz. bottle she could, didn't matter what was in it. If it was there, it was her victim that day. Your tale just gave me the biggest belly laugh I've had in quite some time, thank you for sharing, and stimulating a pleasant memory about my sweetie for me.

 

[handsome kitty]

Eclipse even attacks the swiffer!

 

[misterwhiskers]

I have a Bissell Smartclean, and let me tell you, if Robin DIDNT run when that thing came on, I'd suspect him of sneaking around in the catnip behind my back. My landlords called me the first time I used it, and they thought I had taken a sander to the floors! For the noise it makes (must have been designed with a 4 inch carpet in mind), Robin takes it very well. He'll leave the room, but he's annoyed, not petrified. Even I'm scared to have to use that thing. Geez.