Hey there, we have two cats and they mean more to us than most else. Coming home to them waiting at the door, the way they roll over and want to play, just saying hello...The way they have their spots, (pretty much wherever they like) and the way they know our moods...I'd say they're more than cats. Ours certainly are to us anyway. I think it's the same for many with pets.

A user here I engage with a lot has had to put a much-loved pet down recently and it has been heartbreaking for him...It would be the same for us with ours and I assume most others too. They mean so much I guess.

not sure how to go about starting out... what would you advise?

Engage. Comment with validity, reply to comments and build relationships. Stay away from gimmicks and shitposting like taking a picture of a rock and calling the post boulder Wednesday and stuff like that...If it looks like a gimmick thing, it probably is. Write about what you enjoy and makes you happy. Write and engage with passion. Avoid posting too much, it looks spammy. Twice a day maybe is about enough...Not twice an hour. Understand what tags to use. There's a few tips that helped me out over the last two and half years.

Have fun. That's what it's all about. And engage.