So I have an update on this my sims moved house today and and one of the first things that happened was the robot vacuum broke and now his cat is displaying the fear bubble for the vacuum it's just odd that prior to moving him out of the previous lot in brindleton and into the new lot in windenburg his cat never displayed the fear bubble and was still riding the vacuum, I'm gonna keep an eye out and see if he still rides on the robot vacuum in the new lot or whether I'll be selling them or I'll possibly stick them into a room he cant enter of hes still ok when the robot vacuum is in the middle of cleaning.
ETA: so I've played a bit more and it seems the only time the cat is afraid of the robot vacuum in the new house is when it needs repaired at all other times he has an obsession with it o.O so I've went ahead and just made it unbreakable.