Leave Me Alone or I'll Vacuum!

I've mentioned my furry child before, who, like most cats, loves to eat and will bug me for food. While he isn't a butterball, he isn't exactly wasting away, either, so I try to regulate his food intake. He doesn't get it, and doesn't appreciate it. Meow! Meow! Meow! Sometimes, the meowing is accompanied by aggressive head butting. Yes, I love cats and I think this is cute--to an extent. Sometimes it's aggravating, and I need him to stop, but the surefire way to get him to stop is--you guessed it--to feed him. So, when it's too soon for food but he's getting on my nerves, I run the vacuum cleaner. He hates the noise and runs away, and that will buy me a good ten minutes after I turn it off.

Interestingly, this technique works on the kiddo as well. When I get the vacuum out, she runs around in a panic, picking up her toys from the floor so that they don't get sucked up into the vacuum. (Yes, it could happen. My mother in law called me "dangerous" because she once saw all of the things I managed to collect in the vacuum.) Then, once the kiddo is sure that her things are safe, she runs and hides. If I pause, she will poke her head out from her hiding place and ask if I am done. Sometimes I keep vacuuming just to get some peace and quiet...