About 1 million people watch live broadcasts of cats and dogs on Taobao’s live streaming platform every day, according to data, and in February, the number of live pet broadcasts increased by 375 percent year on year.

(photo/pixabay.com)

The broadcasts usually involve nothing more than cats and dogs doing the things they do every day, such as eating and sleeping.

Meanwhile, online pet store owners have also set up blind dates or organized games for pets, and even started giving viewers scientific knowledge about how to feed their pets in their broadcasts.

Pet-themed hostels are also proving a big hit with netizens. In a recent live broadcast hosted by a pet hostel in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, three dogs, walked by their owner, showed viewers around the place, where special pools, swings and slides had been set up for them to play.

It’s not only cats and dogs that have become popular during live broadcasts - turtles, rabbits and pigs have also become an unexpected hit.

One popular pig farm in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, was unable to open for visitors because of the epidemic, prompting the farm manager Wang Xiaochun to turn to live streaming videos to show how the pigs had fun, such as listening to music and playing with toys. Wang also plans to introduce more broadcasts about the pet pigs for viewers in the future.