Xiaomi - M40S

Even UWANT is region locked, I’d either: get Xiaomi M40S for minimal worries or purchase a popular brand name robot + region bypass router.

Yup, that's the answer, Valetudo the only truly local robot vaccum intégration in home assistant, and the l10s works wonders (from what i heard, I'm running a cheap Xiaomi mija robot vaccum on Valetudo) Roborock do have a "local polling" intégration, but you still need to have your robot be able to talk to roborock servers.

I have 2 cats too, one long haired and one short. Tried many many vacuums over the 10+ years that I’ve had my cat. Here’re my personal take on the vacuums as someone who works full time and don’t necessarily have time to clean daily. Dyson: Have the version with the laser. Cost $$$$ but it’s lasted me ~5 years now and still going strong. Fur shows up really well with the laser and imo is a must for pet households. However the fur gets caught in the dust drum especially if your cat is long haired. I would suggest saving up for a laser vacuum, but not necessarily a Dyson one. Side note laser don’t really work well on soft or textured floors (carpets and textured mats), so consider your own situation before you invest. Shark: Had this before the Dyson, so its an old model. Did it’s job, less costly but it was a bit heavier. Broke after 3ish years? Was a bit difficult to clean out the tangled fur too. Random handheld for ~$50 off shopee: Had this in the interim between the shark and the Dyson. My floor LOOKED clean but after turning on the Dyson laser it was an absolute nightmare. Fur and dust EVERYWHERE. So thats why I love the laser. Wet dry robot vacuum from Xiao Mi: It was okay for a while but then things started getting tangled in it (I also have clutter). Also the mop function isn’t very strong so you’d still need to hand mop ~1-2 times a week. After a while it somehow forgot my floor layout and would only mop half of the living room before returning to dock. Also cleaning the vacuum itself was a pain. If your cat is the kind to poop on the floor or cough up hairballs often, I would exercise caution since if your cat ever made a mess when you are out, and the vacuum goes over it, you might just come home to 💩 streaks all over…. Old style vaccum with cord and cylinder: Have this as a backup vacuum. The suction is much better than cordless handheld stick vacuums. Cordless is bad at picking up fur in soft floor like carpet or mats. Con is it’s heavy and less wieldy than cordless. Given your budget I would actually go with a lighter corded vacuum since most budget cordless are bad at picking up fur off anything thats not hard floor… Look for stuff built specifically for pet hair and try out the vacuum in stores if you can. Also look up reviews on Youtube that are 6 month to 1 year post purchase for pet households. Some vacuums lose suction fast.

Got a dog that sheds a lot and leaves saliva marks on the floor. I had cheap xiaomi robot vacuum mop before, still had to clean a few times a week. Switched to dreame x40 ultra + a levoit air purifier, now i dont really vacuum or mop at all, and i dust the furniture less frequently