I bought this for my apartment because I started having allergies. I was impressed by the amount of dirt it picked up. I decided to test it and took it to my mom's house where she has a cat that is always shedding. We used her regular vacuum first and did a 2 ft x 2 ft sqare of carpeting. We actually did it twice to make sure it's really clean. Then, we used the Dyson (with an empty canister) and went over the same patch of carpet. You wouldn't believe how much dust, lint and what I assume is dander came out of the little patch that we did.

Although they are pricey, I think they are well worth...