The Case of the Disappearing Kibble

(Cue the "Twilight Zone" music)

It happened again--the mysterious, disappearing cat food. This is an account of the first time I experienced this phenomenon (posted Dec. 11, 2007).

"I spilled about a cup of dry cat food on the carpet. I brought out the hand vac to clean it up. It seemed to be working just fine. Then I picked up the vac and saw that the brush was simply brushing the kibble backward. I then removed the hose to stop the brush spinning and used the hose to pick up the mess. I thought the job had been completed satisfactorily. Then I took the bag off to empty it; there was no cat food mixed in with the dust. I shook the vac; no rattling kibble. I knew that it was sucked up by the hose; I watched it go in. I tried to take the vac apart; I could only get the handle off. I did discover that there is no way for the kibble to go anywhere but into the bag. One of life’s little mysteries."

Again, I spilled the cat chow on the carpet. Again, I used the hand vac to clean up the mess. Again, when I emptied the bag there was no kibble in the bag! There was a meager handful of brownish dust. It was powder fine. Could this be the cat food? This vacuum is a Black & Decker; as far as I know, it does NOT have the capability of grinding the detritus into dust. It barely picks up the lint on the carpet on the steps.

Again, I ask--Where the heck is the sucked up cat food?