If you don’t know, I founded this subreddit on March 1, 2026. It took 3 months to reach 1K members. I posted daily during that period - quite a marathon.

After that, r/StreetCatsOfTheWorld doubled from 1K to 2K in just 2 weeks.

The way from 2K to 3K stretched out for 1 month - perhaps it happened because I banned many accounts at that time and deleted too many comments ("No Politics" rule), which could negatively affect the metrics.

3K for 3.5 months isn't much - I know that some cat subreddits grew faster. I think it's because r/StreetCatsOfTheWorld relied mostly on my posts at the beginning, and I posted from Nepal, where I am staying as a traveler. Posts from Nepal, often about cats from Nepal, looked like ones belonging to the Nepali audience. However, there aren't too many true cat lovers in Nepal, and generally Nepali Reddit isn’t large. This, I believe, slowed down the subreddit growth, especially during the first 3 months when Reddit’s algo was figuring out what r/StreetCatsOfTheWorld actually was and when the subreddit had almost only my posts.

Worth mentioning that r/StreetCatsOfTheWorld has also developed its own distinctive look by now, and that’s actually a bigger achievement than the member count. Saying big thanks to the subreddit's regular posters and commenters for that - building this subreddit wouldn't have been possible without your help, guys! And that's not just words - I previously tried to develop a cat account on IG but quit, feeling no connection there.

The plans are to make the subreddit even bigger - 5K and then 10K. Though I don't have an ambition to grow it infinitely - better to keep the subreddit cozy and cute than rushing for huge numbers.

I recently discovered r/catfree lol, and read so much ridiculous (and hilarious) bullshit about cats and "the cat cult". I wondered what kind of people join this cat-hate club, and what's wrong with them? And then I asked myself: why are cats so close to my heart?

Cats are beautiful, but so are many other animals. What matters far more for me is the cat mentality. I adore cats for the way they feel, namely their tact, their desire for mutual respect, their easy-going nature. I love cats for their openness - I read them in their eyes, and they do the same. This wordless communication is a great pleasure.

In many ways, I am a cat myself by psychology, but in some ways, I am a student of cats. For example, cats teach me to live in the present moment. That's something I struggle with: I'm often lost in clouds of thoughts and worries. They also teach me how to enjoy simple things to the fullest.

What about you, what makes you love cats?