To start off I have four cats and carpet in all of my bedrooms. Although I vacuum quite often it's not the same as Shampooing/Cleaning it. Plus one of my cats gets hairballs and for some reason she always does it on the carpet. I had an older version and it just wasnt easy to use and it didnt clean well. . The design of this machine makes it very easy to use. The suction is incredible. When I use it not only do I get up any messes it also pulls up so much hair that never could see. Refilling it and emptying it is also quite easy. If I had one thing I could change I would make this machine a title smaller to make it easier to use spot cleaning. This seems like a bigger machine meant to clean an entire room.