9 Best Handheld Vacuums for Cat Hair – 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

Cats add so much to our lives – love, laughter, cuddles, and lots of hair on the floor and furniture. While some of us have simply accepted that owning a cat means running errands covered and hair or that we will never be able to wear black pants again, we still have to deal with all the hair our feline friends leave behind. Having a good vacuum that’s capable of dealing with pet hair will make this job a lot easier. Many vacuums simply aren’t equipped to handle large volumes of hair. They plug up and get tangled. Instead of cleaning up the mess, you end up spending your time fixing the vacuum.

The best handheld vacuums will get into the tightest corners of your house, won’t plug up with hairballs, and work quickly – in case your cat isn’t a fan of the vacuum. To help you find one that meets your needs and budget, we’ve gathered a list of the ten best handheld vacuums for cat hair.

A Quick Comparison of Our Winners (2024 Update)

The 9 Best Handheld Vacuums for Cat Hair

1. Dyson V8 Animal Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner – Best Overall

It’s hard to go wrong with a Dyson V8 Animal Cordless Stick vacuum, especially when it comes to vacuuming up pet hair. There’s a lot of different models of Dyson vacuums, but this one is our best overall pick. The nylon bristles do a great job of cleaning up clumps of hair. This vacuum has five different head attachments that allow you to move between carpets, hard floors, and upholstery without difficulty. When the battery is fully charged, you have about one hour of full use. It easily hooks onto the charging station in between so you can grab it for quick cleanup jobs.

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2. Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Upright Vacuum – Best Value

If you’re not prepared to splurge on a Dyson vacuum, the Bissell Pet Eraser is your next best choice and the best value for the money. This vacuum does a great job at cleaning up hair in multi-cat households without plugging up or getting tangled.

The one downside to this vacuum is that it’s quite bulky, so it might not fit into small corners and crevices.

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3. Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright Vacuum – Premium Choice

This Dyson Ball Animal 2 vacuum is the king of pet hair vacuums. It is specially engineered to clean homes with pets, has a self-adjusting cleaner head to reach the deepest levels of your carpet, and has the strongest suction level of any vacuum on our list. An integrated filter helps to trap small particles and allergens to keep your air clean as well.

While this vacuum does a superior job, it also comes at a superior price. It will easily get into small spaces and crevices, but this vacuum isn’t cordless, so you might find yourself tripping over a cord.

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4. Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Cordless Pet Vacuum

Earlier in the list, we reviewed the upright, stick vac model of the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser. This entry is also a Bissell Pet Hair Eraser but a slightly smaller version. This vacuum does have a crevice tool to help you clean tight spaces. The upholstery tool helps to clean soft surfaces. It co

There are some complaints that the vacuum doesn’t last very long on a charge. Some customers state that it only holds suction power for about 10-15 minutes.

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5. Shark Wandvac Lightweight Handheld Vacuum

As with many stick vacuums, this model from Shark Wandvac Lightweight Handheld is both a portable handheld and an upright vacuum. It is cordless and much lighter weight than many other stick models, weighing in at just under 2.1 pounds. The charging base has two different storage setups, so you can make it fit almost anywhere in your home. Boost mode provides extra suction power for tougher messes, and you can easily switch between carpet and hard floors.

The self-cleaning brush roll on this vacuum is ideal for pet hair as it doesn’t tangle or get clogged. As an added bonus, users report this vacuum does a great job of picking up cat litter off your floor.

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6. Oreck POD Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

Oreck POD Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner has an extra-long battery life and can fit into small crevices in your home. This model has a “bag pod” for mess-free dirt and hair disposal. This pod self-seals to avoid dust clouds and also holds up to three times as much dirt as other vacuums before it needs dumping.

This vacuum is super portable and can easily clean hair off your furniture; the handheld detaches a little differently than most vacuums, so you might find it has a bit of a learning curve.

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7. Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

Stick vacs are notorious for lacking suction capabilities. Bring in the Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute Lightweight Cordless stick vac. As with other Dyson products, this stick vac holds suction power, cleans a variety of surfaces, and does a great job of filtering out allergens. So, if this vacuum is so great, why is it the only number 7 on the list?

This vacuum is a) very expensive as far as stick vacs go, but that goes with the Dyson name, and b) isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It maintains suction, has an incredibly long battery life, and can be used on carpet, hard floors, and furniture.

The canister fills up after only a few minutes of use. If you’re using this vacuum for hair (which is why you’re here), the hair wraps around the filter and must be picked out by hand, at which point your hand will also be covered with dust and whatever else you have managed to pick up in the vacuum. Since the canister doesn’t open easily, most of the time, the contents end up back on the floor for you to vacuum up a second time. Based on personal experience with this vacuum in a multi-pet household, this is one case where you don’t get what you pay for.

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8. Persev Handheld Vacuum for Pet Hair

At first glance, this wet/dry vacuum from Persev Handheld seems amazing. It has strong suction, 4-5 hour battery life with continuous use, and a ton of features. It transforms into three different vacuum styles, and it’s the only handheld vacuum we found that cleans up wet messes. It even has built-in voltage protection to prevent your vacuum from overheating and burning out the motor.

The built-in safety mechanism is actually the biggest downside of this vacuum. Since it operates on temperature, the vacuum quits when it gets too hot. If you operate it on a hot, summer day and it gets too hot, it quits. There’s nothing wrong with the vacuum itself, just that you can’t override the temperature controls.

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9. Black and Decker Pet Dustbuster

A list of the best handheld vacuums wouldn’t be complete without an entry dedicated to the original handheld, the Black and Decker Dustbuster. This model was made with a special “Pet head” with extra rubber tines to help pick up pet hair. It has twice the suction power of the original dustbuster and is fully washable. There’s a charge indicator light on the handle to help you identify if the vacuum needs charging.

What is lacking in this vacuum is suction power. It doesn’t do a great job of sucking up anything, although it doesn’t clog with large amounts of hair.

Buyer’s Guide: Picking the Best Handheld Vacuum for Cat Hair

Conclusion

Our pick for the best overall vacuum for picking up cat hair is the Dyson V8 Cordless Stick Vacuum. It does a fantastic job and is sure to leave your home and furniture free of pet hair. If you’re looking for something a little easier on the pocketbook, the Bissell Upright Pet Hair Eraser is the best value for the money. These reviews are sure to help you find a vacuum that meets your needs. While any one of these vacuums will do the job of cleaning up cat hair, their different styles and features won’t fit in every household. Choose one that is comfortable for you to use and cleans surfaces in your home, rather than just choosing one that’s top-rated.

See also:

• Best Vacuum Cleaners For Cat Litter – Reviews & Top Picks
• Best Vacuums for Pet Hair: Reviews & Top Picks

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Featured Image Credit: Mr_Mrs_Marcha, Shutterstock