History Main / NatureAbhorsAVacuumCleaner

-->'''Rosario:''' WHAT?! ''This'' is the howling monster?!
-->'''Ruff, Uncle M:''' '''''VACCUMN CLEANERS?!?! AAAAAHHHH!!!!!! '''''
--> ''Terrified, Ruff, Uncle M, and even [[NotSoStoic Blossom]] flee for their lives, hiding.''
-->'''Rosario:''' '''(Suddenly Understanding)''' Howling menace!
-->'''Madi:''' Oh yeah! Cats and dogs hate vacuums! They're all scared of them! This is the monster!

->''"RUN! BLOSSOM, RUN!! Okay, we need a little more work..."''
-->-- ''Ruff'', to Blossom after they fail to get over their fear of vacuums, ''WesternAnimation/FetchWithRuffRuffman'

* ''Advertising/DearKitten'': Cat, in voiceover, advises Kitten on "the monster known as Vack Oom".

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In the short "So Long, Sucker", Lynn Sr. gets an automated vacuum cleaner and the family pets hate it (though, unlike most examples of the trope, it annoys them instead of scaring them) and spend the whole short trying to get rid of it.

[[folder:AnimeAndManga]]

* ''Manga/TheHelpfulFoxSenkosan'' arrives in Kuroto Nakano's life to reduce his stress, and abate the miasma of gloom that he unknowingly exudes. One chore she tries to do for him is to tidy up his apartment, and she turns on a vacuum cleaner. Once it's running, however, she's terrified of it, and hides beneath the bedcovers, swatting the device with a hand duster. Senko-san is technically a ''kitsune,'' a foxlike demigoddess that can assume humanoid form when needed.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Terrytoons}}'': "Taming the Cat" (a Heckle and Jeckle cartoon that was submitted for Oscar consideration, but not nominated) climaxes with the two birds pursuing the cat attempting to eat them by riding aboard a somehow self-propelled vacuum cleaner.

There's an unspoken rule in comedic fiction: vacuum cleaners and animals do ''not'' mix well. In many cases, it's because of the [[HellIsThatNoise loud noise]] that vaccums make, which most animals hate; their hearing often being much more sensitive than a human's may have something to do with that. [[https://outwardhound.com/furtropolis/dogs/why-do-dogs-hate-vacuums For dogs]] [[https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/why-are-cats-scared-of-vacuum-cleaners and cats]], at least, this is TruthInTelevision, to the point where some companies have recently attempted, with varying levels of success, to create "pet-safe" vacuums that don't produce the loud noises that often result in this trope.

This is a frequent occurrence in lighthearted works with pets in a prominent role, [[TalkingAnimal talking]] or no, although it may also turn up in more serious {{Xenofiction}} told from the animals' perspective. And in some cases, not even [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent therianthropes]], BeastMen or LittleBitBeastly characters may be safe.

* ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants'': In George and Harold's first ''Dog Man'' comic, the villain Petey creates a robotic vacuum cleaner to suck up all the money from a nearby bank. Dog Man chases after it, but is terrified by it and runs away. It chases after him, but ends up not being able to go any further when its extension cord falls out of the socket it's plugged into, allowing Dog Man to defeat it.

--> '''Puck:''' If a vacuum cleaner appears, seek shelter ''immediately.'' Remember: "If it's not a broom, leave the room."

** In "Peter's Daughter" after Brian and Stewie accidently kill an electrician they hired in an explosion, Stewie states that Brian will go to Doggy {{Hell}}. The CutawayGag shows {{Satan}} tormenting dogs with a vacuum cleaner.
** In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS4E15BrianGoesBackToCollege Brian Goes Back to College]]", Lois pressures Brian into going back to take his final exams by bringing out "Mr. Hoover." She then chases Brian around the living room with the vacuum cleaner while he panics and barks, until he finally relents and goes to take the test.
* In Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/FetchWithRuffRuffman'', the kids are sent to investigate a mystery on an island. According to legend, the island, which dogs call Dogtopia and cats call Catlantis, was home to a grand civilization in which cats and dogs lived together, until they turned on each other and the feud brought an end to their society. Searching for clues, the kids find that the dogs and cats blamed each other for a terrible noise, which turns out to have been made by enormous vacuum cleaners.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In the short "So Long, Sucker", Lynn Sr. gets an automated vacuum cleaner and the family pets hate it (though unlike most examples of the trope, it annoys them instead of scaring them) and spend the whole short trying to get rid of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': in one episode Phineas creates an animal translator, and one of the most frequently complaints that they get is about the vacuum cleaner. One of the fireside girls is telling one of the animals making such a complaint to just let it all out.
* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': In "[[Recap/RegularShowS07E07CatVideos Cat Videos]]", [[ItMakesSenseInContext when Mordecai, Rigby and Benson were turned into cats]], one of their opponents to the exit is a sapient vacuum cleaner.

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* ''WebAnimation/SimonsCat'':
** In "The Monster", Simon's Cat pounces on the vacuum cleaner (which isn't even doing anything at the time). After batting at it a few times, he somehow manages to accidentally turn it on, sucking in his arm and his tail before he manages to get away and bring back a baseball bat and beat it into submission. The vacuum gets the last laugh when the cat accidentally triggers the retractable vacuum cord, which whacks him a few times.
** In "The Monster Returns", Simon's Kitten goes into the closet, causing the vacuum nozzle to fall out and scare Simon's Cat. After getting lured into a false sense of security, the Kitten once again accidentally turns the vacuum on, which tries to suck both of them in before they shut it in the closet and it blows up.

There's an unspoken rule in comedic fiction: vacuum cleaners and animals do ''not'' mix well. In many cases, it's because of the [[HellIsThatNoise loud noise]] that vaccums make, which most animals hate; their hearing often being much more sensitive than a human's may have something to do with that. [[https://outwardhound.com/furtropolis/dogs/why-do-dogs-hate-vacuums For dogs]] [[https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/why-are-cats-scared-of-vacuum-cleaners and cats]], at least, this is TruthInTelevision, to the point where some companies have recently attempted, with varying levels of success, to create "pet-safe" vacuums that don't produce the loud noises that often result in this trope. Of course, smaller animals like rodents and insects have more to fear from being sucked into the vacuum itself than the noise it produces, but the gag still applies.

Of course, Fictionland tends to apply this trait to any other animal regardless of how good or bad their sense of hearing is. In some cases, it may even result in the animal engaging in open warfare against the vacuum in a bid to destroy the loud, scary menace, and in more cartoonish works, the vacuum [[AnimateInanimateObject might even come alive and actively chase after the hapless creature]]. Note however that this trope applies only when the animal has enmity or fear towards a mundane, ''non-sentient'' vacuum cleaner, and if the vacuum comes to life to attack them, it's only for the sake of comedy. Vacuums that are actively malicious outside of humor are [[ViciousVac a different if related trope]].