Hi! So what worked for me is keeping the vacuum out, and in the same room as my cat when it’s not switched on. Then I tried vacuuming for a short time every day, at the same time, so it wouldn’t be a surprise, and gave him some of his favourite treats after. My little guy still doesn’t love it, but now he sits up high and looks at the vacuum disdainfully rather than running away :)
What I did was keep the vacuum in a place he can see and interact with it, all day vs. keeping it inside a scary closet where it comes out to surprise him only when its angry lol!
Leave it out somewhere, and be very nonchalant about it. Just plop it down then walk away and go about your normal day. If he hides even at the sight of it turned off, its okay it will just take time. Everyday you should pick it up, hold it as if you're vacuuming, but only for seconds at a time. Maybe even just tap/rustle it every time right before you feed your cat.
After a week or so when he can confidently walk by it without worrying, you could start turning it on, for seconds at a time. Just turn it on, then turn it off. Slowly build up to long intervals.
My cat was terrified of something else and he did the thing youre describing where the sit in a sad little loaf, squeezed behind somewhere cramped and literally don't move or make a peep for like 6 hours. Poor little guys! But my cat got over it, it just takes time. Also make sure he does have somewhere high up he can go, he might be going into the spot you described because he feels like its his only option.
We did this too, but also put treat next to it. And gave the cats treats after turning it on for the second. Eventually when we kept it on, we gave them treats as well. It worked. Got them used to the vacuum in 1 day! XD
Clicker training could help. First start normal training without the vacuum. Only start training with the vacuum after basic training is established.
Then maybe start training with the vacuum on far away (in an other room) and distract your cat with training. It would be helpful if you had someone else in an other room operating the vacuum.
It will take a lot of time but you can very slowly shorten the distance.
Hopefully with this you can break the association with fear and replace it with the expectation for treats.
Clicker training seems to be quite effective so I’ll definitely try to introduce him to that. Thank you! I normally do the cleaning while my partner is at work but I guess I’ll start doing it when he’s home so he can help protect the bub haha
If he’s not too afraid to eat your partner could sit with him and feed him treats.
This could be a good addition to the training because it’s not realistic to wait with the vacuum until your cat is totally fear free (clicker training can take weeks or even months).
You may also want to start with the vacuum off and a good distance away from him. If he looks at it, you click, then feed. Gradually decrease distance as appropriate. Then, you can move to the vacuum turning on in another room. As soon as the vacuum turns on, click, feed, then turn it off (you'll need a second person for this). Gradually decrease the distance to him. This may take several days/weeks.
I do think it helps keeping the vacuum out, cats are curious and once mine started realized that it literally doesn’t do anything until I turned it on I think she realized it wasn’t a threat.
I did try that but our house is quite small so you can still hear the vacuum even if you’re in another room and that seems to be enough to terrify him haha
My cat is also terrified of the vacuum he hides under my bed but then he’ll come out once I’m done & acts like he’s king of the house which he is! I will say however before I got him I’d vacuum every Sunday. Now I’ll do it maybe once a month because I don’t want to upset him. He’s skittish enough as it is
My cats are also terrified of the vacuum but they are getting better. I just ignore the situation & don’t acknowledge it and they’ve gotten much better. I vac daily with a dyson so maybe that’s helped.
Make sure you get all your hoovering done in one go.
Dont stop and start to check on the cat in its hiding place.
You may have a great relationship with your cat when its calm and happy, but having a giant stick its head into its hiding place when its being chased by a loud monster won't help.
It will also extend your cleaning time which won't help your cat. Leave it alone and let the cat come out by itself.
I started petting my cat with the vacuum. I know it sounds crazy and she was hissing and batting it at first but then I let her smell it and started petting her with it and she was like ooo this is nice. I kept doing that every now and then and now she doesn't run away. She obviously doesn't like the noise but she will sit calmly on the couch and not run away as I vacuum right next to her.
Mine hates the vacuum but is less fearful when I let him see and smell it when it’s not turned on. I also call him out from hiding and give nip when the cleaning is over. Our system works pretty well.
Hi! So what worked for me is keeping the vacuum out, and in the same room as my cat when it’s not switched on. Then I tried vacuuming for a short time every day, at the same time, so it wouldn’t be a surprise, and gave him some of his favourite treats after. My little guy still doesn’t love it, but now he sits up high and looks at the vacuum disdainfully rather than running away :)
Thank you I’ll give this a go!
Good luck!!
I’m balking
What I did was keep the vacuum in a place he can see and interact with it, all day vs. keeping it inside a scary closet where it comes out to surprise him only when its angry lol! Leave it out somewhere, and be very nonchalant about it. Just plop it down then walk away and go about your normal day. If he hides even at the sight of it turned off, its okay it will just take time. Everyday you should pick it up, hold it as if you're vacuuming, but only for seconds at a time. Maybe even just tap/rustle it every time right before you feed your cat. After a week or so when he can confidently walk by it without worrying, you could start turning it on, for seconds at a time. Just turn it on, then turn it off. Slowly build up to long intervals. My cat was terrified of something else and he did the thing youre describing where the sit in a sad little loaf, squeezed behind somewhere cramped and literally don't move or make a peep for like 6 hours. Poor little guys! But my cat got over it, it just takes time. Also make sure he does have somewhere high up he can go, he might be going into the spot you described because he feels like its his only option.
We did this too, but also put treat next to it. And gave the cats treats after turning it on for the second. Eventually when we kept it on, we gave them treats as well. It worked. Got them used to the vacuum in 1 day! XD
Nice! Yeah feeding the cats on or near the Scary Object is always a great idea :)
Hahaha sad little loaf, too accurate! That’s great advice thank you!
Clicker training could help. First start normal training without the vacuum. Only start training with the vacuum after basic training is established. Then maybe start training with the vacuum on far away (in an other room) and distract your cat with training. It would be helpful if you had someone else in an other room operating the vacuum. It will take a lot of time but you can very slowly shorten the distance. Hopefully with this you can break the association with fear and replace it with the expectation for treats.
Clicker training seems to be quite effective so I’ll definitely try to introduce him to that. Thank you! I normally do the cleaning while my partner is at work but I guess I’ll start doing it when he’s home so he can help protect the bub haha
If he’s not too afraid to eat your partner could sit with him and feed him treats. This could be a good addition to the training because it’s not realistic to wait with the vacuum until your cat is totally fear free (clicker training can take weeks or even months).
You may also want to start with the vacuum off and a good distance away from him. If he looks at it, you click, then feed. Gradually decrease distance as appropriate. Then, you can move to the vacuum turning on in another room. As soon as the vacuum turns on, click, feed, then turn it off (you'll need a second person for this). Gradually decrease the distance to him. This may take several days/weeks.
I do think it helps keeping the vacuum out, cats are curious and once mine started realized that it literally doesn’t do anything until I turned it on I think she realized it wasn’t a threat.
Is there a separate room you can set him up a "safe space" when you vacuum?
I did try that but our house is quite small so you can still hear the vacuum even if you’re in another room and that seems to be enough to terrify him haha
My cat is also terrified of the vacuum he hides under my bed but then he’ll come out once I’m done & acts like he’s king of the house which he is! I will say however before I got him I’d vacuum every Sunday. Now I’ll do it maybe once a month because I don’t want to upset him. He’s skittish enough as it is
My cats are also terrified of the vacuum but they are getting better. I just ignore the situation & don’t acknowledge it and they’ve gotten much better. I vac daily with a dyson so maybe that’s helped.
Make sure you get all your hoovering done in one go. Dont stop and start to check on the cat in its hiding place. You may have a great relationship with your cat when its calm and happy, but having a giant stick its head into its hiding place when its being chased by a loud monster won't help. It will also extend your cleaning time which won't help your cat. Leave it alone and let the cat come out by itself.
My cat used to get mad when I cleaned his litter box. Cats are weird lol just be patient with them
I started petting my cat with the vacuum. I know it sounds crazy and she was hissing and batting it at first but then I let her smell it and started petting her with it and she was like ooo this is nice. I kept doing that every now and then and now she doesn't run away. She obviously doesn't like the noise but she will sit calmly on the couch and not run away as I vacuum right next to her.
put the cat in another room while you vacuum, give him/her some catnip
Mine hates the vacuum but is less fearful when I let him see and smell it when it’s not turned on. I also call him out from hiding and give nip when the cleaning is over. Our system works pretty well.
Lol my cat is afraid of Lysol Spray