Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2012	Oct. 31, 2011
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,587,725	$ 1,445,136	$ 1,330,835
Cost of sales	560,917	521,126	526,031
Gross profit	1,026,808	924,010	804,804
Selling, general and administrative expense	610,735	564,903	513,138
Research and development expense	58,827	51,730	43,581
Amortization of intangibles	30,239	23,979	20,529
Loss on divestiture of Aime	21,062	0	0
Operating income	305,945	283,398	227,556
Interest expense	9,168	11,771	17,342
Gain on insurance proceeds	14,084	5,000	0
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	1,404	16,487
Other income (expense), net	1,410	229	(963)
Income before income taxes	312,271	275,452	192,764
Provision for income taxes	15,365	26,808	17,334
Net income	296,906	248,644	175,430
Income attributable to noncontrolling interests	755	305	0
Net income attributable to Cooper stockholders	$ 296,151	$ 248,339	$ 175,430
Earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 6.09	$ 5.18	$ 3.74
Earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 5.96	$ 5.05	$ 3.63
Number of shares used to compute earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders:
Basic (in shares)	48,615	47,913	46,904
Diluted (in shares)	49,685	49,152	48,309