So, you are going to need to vacuum. At this point in time I have 5 cats and 4 vacuums and I can think of at least 2 more that I would like to add to my arsenal. Let me start with the ones I have.
Robbie the Haier Robot
One of my big regrets as a cat mom is not getting a robot vac sooner. There are some pricey ones, but if you hit amazon on a good day you can find some less popular ones on sale. This one by Haier is no longer in production, but he does a great job. This one can be programmed to run once a day and he will run until his battery is out and then he will go back to his base to recharge. Sometimes he gets stuck on things that are too high for him to climb but not high enough for him to bump off of and go around. I can live with this because he picks up cat hair, cat litter, random little things. He has been our first line of defense in the new house against "cat tumbleweeds" and we just love it,
That being said, if you have a cat that pukes of goes out of the litter box in a spot this thing will run over you might want to skip it or if you can block off the place your cat normally pukes/poops that would be best. There are stories online of people using these and having it run over dog poop. You can look that up on your own.
These Guys
On the left we have our Eureka canister vac. I like the rotating brush. I never bother with using the attachments except for if I need the crevice tool or if I need to get a cobweb or something. I literally put couch cushions on the floor and just run them over with the regular part of the vacuum. I won't lie, I prefer a bagged vacuum but this was a compromise with my husband. My advice to those like me who dislike the dust of the canister would be empty it before during and after. It works better the cleaner you keep the canister.
On the right is My hoover rug shampooer. You can get one of these on sale for like $130 bucks. It doesn't heat the water like some more expensive steam cleaners but you can put hot water in the tank and that works pretty good. If you have a pee-er or a puker plus and upholstery, rugs or carpets this is an essential. I use the attachments on this A LOT because my cats like to puke on chairs and stairs. If you have hardwood with a rug on it, after using this you'll want to fold back the rug and let it dry off the wood to avoid stains on the wood.
I also have a Bissel Zing which is not pictured. It's a little bagged canister vac and it does its job in the basement picking up litter outside the boxes. I would prefer to get another robot vac for the basement where the boxes are but Lisa is a floor shitter so until we find a way to get her in the box 100 percent of the time the zing will have to do.
The vacuums I wish I had would be a bagged upright, for those days when it just seems like there is too much fur and dust in the air, and some kind of dust buster or stick vac. As I mentioned I don't like using the attachments on my regular upright and I think a smaller vacuum would make some things easier.
I don't particularly endorse any brand of vacuum or shampooer. The point of this post is really to show the level of commitment involved in managing the hair of five cats. I actually have an entire second post coming devoted to the OTHER tools I use to manage cat hair. I want to express that with cats or any pet that is covered with hair and running around your house, that you can't avoid it. You have to accept it and find ways of working with it. The sooner you accept the hair and your new life as a person who vacuums as a religion, the sooner you can cope with another topic that will have it's post very soon, claws. So happy Vacuuming!
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