We have cats and mostly hardwood. This vacuum does well handling both. It's pretty good on rugs as well, though it needs to be on the highest setting to work best on rugs. Emptying is easy and efficient. It's very early in the ownership period, but so far the battery life is excellent and more than enough to handle our entire house. I certainly don't miss a traditional corded vacuum and this is superior to the Dysons I've tried.