Hello, I got a comment on my previous post recommending I post it here as well.
I had the Philips one but after about a year it's suction changed to the point where it's hard for it to pick up cat litter now..
It must be able to deal with a lot of cat hair and litter.. and preferably be under 500 euros.
Of course I think a corded one is better for my purposes, and I have mostly hard floors with a few small rugs.
The problem is that every year the quality decreases, so it becomes difficult to know which vacuums will still be good. For example, someone may have purchased the same vacuum 5 years ago and think it's great but the one sold today might not compare
Picked up a "Electrolux Pure D8.2 Silence PD82-Animal" model last year and it's been pretty awesome. If you check the tech specs the noise level is really low (and actually delivers on the promise) but still has a much higher suction force than anything I've had before. The rotating hair removal accessory is crap though (not powered so just not comparable to a model that is), so no need for the animal version if price for other versions is better. Seems to still be on the market but stock limited as everything these days.
I think I've used one Electrolux somethingsilenceorsomething and it really was startlingly quiet and pretty good for normal use. No idea how durable it is, but it sticks in my mind as the only genuinely quiet vacuum I've ever used.