My cat's terrified of vacuum cleaner

aries

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My kitties all detest the vaccum! The older ones simply hop up off the floor into favorite spots but the younger ones head for other parts.


Funny though, the dog attacks the thing! She barks madly and bites it.
 

pamommyof2

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I adopted Galway, so I'm not sure if she had a bad experience before (she's just 2) but she seems to be getting used it it. Now when I vacuum she runs to the other room, but when I come in there to vacuum, she just climbs to the top of the highest furniture and sits and watches. She used to just flee to whatever room I wasn't in. It's taken about six months.
 

danianna015

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That is the same with my two cats, Sallie and Callie. They hate the vacuum. whenever they see me take it out, they run and hide till they know for sure its gone. They cant stand running water or my hairdryer also.
 

slitty_kittay

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My boyfriends childhood kitty, Musse, used to like to be vaccumed from time to time as a grooming aid.

Once my mother turned the vaccum cleaner on and their cat hadn't realised it was in the room - he got such a fright he evacuated his anal glands all over the floor


Luckily, they had tiles, not carpet!
 

lilleah

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We have one cat(kipper) that will take off running and be in a room for hours before he attempts to come back out after the vacuume...

And then we have Mushi, who sits here while vacumming, and thinks it a great oppurtunity to do whatever he wants because he knows Kipper is gone for a while.

I dont think it's anything to worry about. It's just too loud for some kitties, and so they try & get away from the madness.
 

clixpix

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When I got my bridge kitty, Abbie, I had a vacuum that had a bag. Well she hated that thing! HATE! Well one day while I was at work, her mission was clear: end the vacuum's life, and end it now! Now mind you, she was just a 5 or 6 month old kitten at the time, but that little booger chewed the plug off the cord, and completely eviscerated the bag! Her work was done, the damage was irreparable!
 
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foxfire

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Well, from reading all these responses, maybe it's just kindof a cat "thing." But I was hoping Jeremiah could at least someday get less afraid. If he's really frightened of something, he burrows under the bedspread. I think it's pitiful, but I guess I have to learn to deal with that. I can't eliminate everything that may frighten him.

But at the same time, it's kinda funny too. It's like he thinks if he can't see the spooky monster, that means it can't see him.
 

vegkitten

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My Shroomies is absolutely terrified of the vacuum cleaner. As soon as I turn it on his runs and hides under our bed and doesn't come out for at least an hour. Same thing with the hair dryer and the blender. He just takes off.

Bella, however, is completely deaf so she can't hear the vacuum cleaner and is unphased by it. I actually have to pick her up and move her off the carpet otherwise she'll just lay there and stare as me as I'm vacuuming around her.
 

eupnea

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We have a kitty in the kennel who vomits when we use the dustbuster.

It would be hilarious, except the kitties aren't freefed, so we have to feed her again after! (We've started taking her out of the room when we clean up)
 

teddyburr

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I have a new 1 year old cat who was from a breeder. She lived in a fabulous outdoor "cat hotel", but was of course not used to ANY household noises. She had never seen or heard a TV even (just working on that one with her). Well I'm getting around this vacuum issue by simply carrying the cat upstairs, fussing her, and shutting her safely into in a small bedroom, while I vacuum the DOWNSTAIRS AREA ONLY of the house. I then remove the vacuum cleaner upstairs to the bathroom, take the cat out of the small bedroom and take her downstairs to the sitting room (you could shut her in the kitchen if your downstairs area is open plan). I close the sitting room door so she can't get out, and just then go back and Hoover all upstairs. She will still hear the hoover "somewhere" in the house, but she won't be scared rigid. This method only takes a couple of extra steps moving your cat safely out of the way BEFORE you hoover, but saves your poor fur baby from GREAT fright and stress.... simples....works a treat for me....give it a try.....
 

teddyburr

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Further to my previous posting on this......

In a NUTSHELL....

THINK before you vacuum!!!! WHERE is the cat??

MOVE YOUR CAT to a "safe room" in your home - and shut the door!!!

I can't BELIEVE some of the comments on here....just starting the vacuum cleaner off in the same room as a cat!!! I thought we were all animal "lovers"?? It appears to not be the case reading many of the comments!!
 

kittens mom

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If I don't see the cats I fire what I call a warning shot. On and off. That gives them the cue to move out of the room. Usually just hearing it being wheeled into the room is enough. I make sure there is a door open in the back room so they can go feel safe. Personally I don't think it's fear so much as the sound of the air being sucked through the filters and that whining sound.
 

raysmyheart

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My Speedy is afraid of the vacuum.  She will start to walk out of the room, via the edges of the room, as soon as I touch the vaccuum.  She is like this with the hairdryer too.  A coffee grinder is not good either.  All my cats have always been afraid of these noises.  I feel bad when I have to vacuum and will only start to vacuum when she is out of the room.
 
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haleyds

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Miss kitty is pretty much fearless for everything, big dogs, new experiences and every person she meets...except the vacuum cleaner. Ever since she was a baby she goes absolutely insane and nobody can even catch her to try and stop the madness that unfolds.
Needless to say, whenever we vacuum she is put into her room and we avoid that area as much as possible. Luckily her room is hard wood so we can sweep in there.
 

kittens mom

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I have a new 1 year old cat who was from a breeder. She lived in a fabulous outdoor "cat hotel", but was of course not used to ANY household noises. She had never seen or heard a TV even (just working on that one with her). Well I'm getting around this vacuum issue by simply carrying the cat upstairs, fussing her, and shutting her safely into in a small bedroom, while I vacuum the DOWNSTAIRS AREA ONLY of the house. I then remove the vacuum cleaner upstairs to the bathroom, take the cat out of the small bedroom and take her downstairs to the sitting room (you could shut her in the kitchen if your downstairs area is open plan). I close the sitting room door so she can't get out, and just then go back and Hoover all upstairs. She will still hear the hoover "somewhere" in the house, but she won't be scared rigid. This method only takes a couple of extra steps moving your cat safely out of the way BEFORE you hoover, but saves your poor fur baby from GREAT fright and stress.... simples....works a treat for me....give it a try.....
How horrible the breeder did not provide a more homelike environment for your cat.
 

mishventurer

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I usually put my kitten in the carrier and move her into closed bathroom (which I won't need to vacuum) so that she can still hear the vacuum but cant see it. So she knows it can't get to her and she's in a safe space. Soon enough she starts to get used to the sound but will not go near the vacuum.
 
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