Top vacuums for pet hair

My cat, Gracie, is absolutely adorable. She's cuddly, and affectionate and surprisngly smart. She knows, for example, exactly when I am in an indulgent mood and likely to give her a treat. She knows that if I am reading, I will most likely not get up from the sofa, so she jumps up beside me, and curls into my side, purring. I know that she is the main reason why my doctor is so pleased with my blood pressure - Gracie is an instant stress buster.

But she is also a vacuum cleaner buster! Last year, we bought what we thought was a perfect vaccum cleaner for our needs, a wireless stick vacuum: an Euro-Pro SV800 2 in 1 cordless. At about that time, Gracie took a huge distaste to being brushed. I could not so much as get close to her with a brush without her starting such distraught wailing that I worried that I was inadvertently murdering her. Needless to say, my house was a mess, and my lovely slender vacuum broke down almost as soon as we bought it.

So research ensued. In the meanwhile, my house grew hairier and messier to the point that i considered shaving Gracie just to stop the mess. Alarmed, my husband stepped in, and we spent a sunny weekend at our local Bed, bath and beyond, testing out vacuum cleaners. Fun? No, not really. But still here is what we discovered:

Hoover Tempo Widepath U5140-900: A loud, inelegant work horse of a vacuum, this guy gets the job DONE! And priced at under $100, the Hoover Tempo is a steal for its functionality and practical go getter attitude. It's never going to win any awards for looks, and you will be deaf by the time your house is clean, it's still the vacuum that cleaned the best - hardwood, carpeted stairs, silk curtains and pet hair, it got it all.

Price: $70 - $100, Weight: 16 pounds, Main pro: Gets the job done, excellent value, Con: LOUD!

Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary edition U6485-900: With a self propel functionality, and bag full indicator, the Windtunnel is the rich cousin of the Tempo, but with the same dorky look. It was phenomenal on carpets, and got even the smaller hairs. It also had a brush on/off switch which was very nice to have. The suction functionality was very good, but at 21 pounds it felt a bit more bulky than what we wanted.

Price: $189 - 230, weight: 21 pounds, Main Pro: Self Propel feature, Main con: heavy

Kenmore Intuition 3100: Despite the Kenmore brand, and many great reviews elsewhere on the Web, I was the least impressed with this vacuum. It was too heavy for me, even though it was the exact weight as the Windtunnel, it did not have the self propel feature, which made a huge difference. Then, to make matters worse, it tipped over when I left it for a moment, and while it did a fabulous job of picking up all the hairs I had scattered about, I would hate to have it fall over and dent the furniture or crush my foot. I would worry that it may injure my cat, but Gracie is too quick of a runner to ever be taken down by a vacuum. Also the over long cord felt clumsy. I could see myself falling all over it. At $250, I would have expected a better design.

Price: $250 - 350, Weight: 21 pounds, Main pro: over long hose, Main Con: Tips over while not in use.

Of all the vacuums we picked, we liked the Hoover Tempo Widepath the best! At $100, it felt like the right price and I loved its relative lightness and its sincere, unsexy appeal. In many ways, it reminded me of a childhood friend, hardworking, unimaginative, and very, very loyal.