Obvious Smiths fan bigmouthstrikesagain over at the Mumsnet discussion boards has just purchased a Miele Cat & Dog TT5000 after asking for recommendations to replace her aging Dyson, which by her own admission is “…held together with masking tape” and in need of “…expensive replacement parts.”

After checking out the Which? best buys and finding Miele the clear winner her only reservation was the bagged vs bagless debate, which thanks to community members such as JFly whose description of her S4211 as “…the compact lightweight nature of it will make up for the occassional hassle of the bags” and ILikeToMoveItMoveIt ’s “…so much lighter than the Dyson. I found the Dyson stupidly heavy and found it a right pain on the stairs.” she ultimately ordered the Cat & Dog and after using it for the first time was so impressed by it reported her findings back to the Mumsnet members: “I think I am in love! I have never seen my stairs looking so… hoovered - amazing…”

To read the rest of the discussion and more on the bagged vs bagless debate head over to the Mumsnet discussion boards.

Many dog owners know the problem: You have a pesky mutt who moults uncontrollably and leaves the house looking a mess, so you have to vacuum every day just to pick up their hair. Well debjam certainly does, and with Dyson just not doing the business, she’s posted over on Money Saving Expert asking for help finding a new vacuum.

And it seems that amongst the initiated, the Miele Cat & Dog is a very popular choice. Champys speaks eagerly of her purchase “I ended up buying a Miele, which is fantastic especially with cat hair”, while Magentasue gushes “We have a Miele cat and dog and it’s the best we’ve ever had”. Mrbadexample also points out, that it’s “damn near powerful enough to lift the carpet off the floor”, while Scarlett.1974, gives “another vote for the Miele Cat & Dog”, leading debjam to conclude “The Miele seems to be doing quite well in the vote stakes as well, so maybe I should check those out too.”

Comment of the day award though undoubtedly goes to pigpen, for her powerful insight into the argument - “My friend has a Miele cat and dog which she says is the best thing since sliced bee’s danglies”…Err…

To read the rest of this very interesting discussion jump over to the Money Saving Expert forum.

You can’t argue with a 10/10 review - and that’s exactly what mart526330 says of the Miele TT5000 Cat & Dog vacuum over at the Review Centre.

Having sported an upright Sebo for the last eight years, moving brands was obviously a big step. With the long-awaited Miele S7 upright due for an October launch, mart526330 decided to go for a Cat & Dog and is pleased to report that the “Miele is such a strong performer”, delivering results there’s no need to shake a duster at. It has an “excellent adjustable power coupled with effective turbo brush attachment” which he says has left his carpets “spotless.”

It’s always been a problem for him “removing sock fluff etc… from beige, tight pile carpet”, but “this vacuum does that job effortlessly”. He also suggests that the Cat & Dog is “easy to use, store and move around, bag/filter replacement is also easy and mess free.” In conclusion, mart526330 seems entirely happy, being fully “satisfied…and hope it lasts as long as the Sebo!”

To read the his review in full, pop over to the Review Centre.

As with many savvy shoppers these days, greasysprout over at the Fool.co.uk message boards did a spot of online research before deciding on a new vacuum.

Following recommendations from other owners he decided to go for a Miele and after a Saturday going round the shops ended up more confused than before over which model to buy. It seems the shop assistants he spoke to couldn’t tell him what he was getting for his money and wants to know whether it’s “…worth paying more for a top of the range model or not?”

Omegamale advises that “One of the features that puts the price up the higher end models is an allergen filter. If you have an Asthmatic in the household then this is worth the expense. If not, then a lower end model should suffice.” while Alyourpal suggests the more basic Cat & Dog describing it as “…ace”. Cleo 2002 suggests the S5211 she purchased about three years ago and while calling it “…basic in comparison with some other models it is good for our requirements” it more than “…coped with cleaning up after a bathroom installation.”

What would you suggest to greasysprout? Is it a case of horses for courses? Why not drop by the Fool boards and have your say.

Following last week’s post on the Miele Cat & Dog 700, a second review has been written this time on the Review Centre.

Starsky1 has owned his machine for over six months and has awarded the Cat & Dog a full ten out of ten across all categories from Ease of Use to Overall Value and gives a particular thumbs-up to the pet hair brush head which he says “…really does pick up my pets hair - even my Border Collie’s which gets really into the carpet!” While he finds the price of the bags as “not so good”, he concedes that only having owned bagless vacuums before, any extra cost would have been more expensive that he was used to.

Starsky1 wraps up his assessment with “I’ve tried many different vacuum cleaners over the years [and] I can actually say I finally enjoy vacuuming!” To read the rest of his review hop over to the Review Centre and leave a comment or rate his review for yourself.

Whether it’s the cuteness of its name or the strength of its cleaning power, the Miele Cat & Dog inspires so much admiration among its owners, that many of them are driven to put finger to keyboard to share their thoughts and feelings with the world on just how much difference it makes to the chore of vacuuming.

This latest review from Haworth on Dooyoo echoes similar sentiments to the previous Cat & Dog reviews we ‘ve featured on Forever Better. The owner of a Cat & Dog for the past two years, Haworth describes it as “…the best vacuum I have ever had and worth every penny…” and “…It does such a good job there is no build up of dust and grime and carpets come up good as new every time”. While he concedes long human hair is sometimes a problem for the rotating brush he finds that it’s “…easily seen as it collects it all together in the first couple of passes and I just bend down and pick it up…” yet despite this he concludes by saying: “I don’t know how I would manage without it now.”

To read the rest of his review, jump over to Dooyoo and see for yourself.

KALIB’R from Overclockers UK is another who’s bucked the housing market downturn and is about to move into a new house. As a cat owner he wants a vacuum for “sucking up them darn cat hairs” and has asked for recommendations for the best machine for the job.

While Electrolux, Panasonic and Henry’s all have their fair share of fans, fellow cat owner footman suggests Miele as “…anything that picks up our cats hair must be good!”, Westyfield2 recommends the S4581 he bought, while collisster gives the Cat & Dog the thumbs-up. KALIB’R tempted by the “fetching shade of red” says he’ll “look into a Miele Cat & Dog” to which footman replies “you wont regret it, its the best we’ve had”.

To read the rest of discussion and leave your own suggestions for KALIB’R jump over to the forum.

Over at Amazon.co.uk, self-confessed hater of vacuuming S Reynolds has just written a review of the Cat & Dog TT5000 vacuum he’s recently bought.

His wife had previously insisted “that the only way to properly clean the carpets is to use the small tools and get on our hands and knees and ’scrub’ the carpet” so he’s naturally delighted that the “suction and performance” of the Cat & Dog is so good that “…it is the only way to clean cat hairs and bits of sock fluff up”. He describes the TT5000 as “a revelation” meaning his cleaning “is done in [a] fraction of the time and effort”.

We’ve covered other reviews of the Cat & Dog TT5000 on Forever Better in the past and to get the low-down on this most recent thumbs-up head over to Amazon and see for yourself.

Monty Burns is having problems over at AV Forums. His Dyson DC08 Animal “has given up the ghost” and is now “useless” at cleaning up the family’s pet hair. He’d like recommendations for a new vacuum cleaner and specifies that he doesn’t want another Dyson as the previous one lasted “less than a year”.

After some discussion on whether the original vacuum really is broken or whether a new filter and/or brush will fix the problem, philb strongly recommends the Miele Cat and Dog stating that it’s “awesome” and that there’s “not one hair left from our pixie!” andyrj1 agrees, mentioning that he once had a Dyson and “did not like it” so replaced it with a Cat and Dog instead and finds it “excellent with the dog hairs”.

If you’ve had any Miele Cat and Dog experience why not let Monty know? You can find the full thread here.

Joho has a question for the denizens of MoneySavingExpert and its forums: Who makes a decent vacuum cleaner? There’s a fair few answers and many of them involve the name Miele.

Jennifer_Jane, who admits to not being a “heavy vacuum user” recalls the Miele S5210 being a popular model among forum folk and bought one herself a year ago. She likes the fact that it’s not an upright, is light enough to lift easily and she still hasn’t changed the bag yet. Beckyv agrees, calling it an “Amazing [vacuum]” that “really gets things clean”, as does LandyAndy who puts in “another vote for Miele” as it’s “streets ahead of the others”.

Pennystretcher reports that she’s had a Miele for almost ten years and she has had “No problems what so ever and it’s cleaning brilliantly!!” The only things she’s ever had to replace are the dustbags and filters, plus she also mentions that her parents have had a Miele for the last twenty years and “it’s still doing a great job”.

Other mentions include fishing-girl, who has “abused” her Miele Cat and Dog over the years she’s had it and it “still works with no breakages” and Nell51 who also recommends the Miele Cat and Dog as it’s been “fantastic”. Head over to the thread to read the full story.