I mean, for most of petplay people I know it's much more of an everyday thing than a sex thing. Which makes sense, since that's generally more of a furry thing. It's less about being an animal and more about being someone's pet, very gentle sub and dom stuff. There's a good tumblr post

petplay? oh you mean that kink for burnt-out neurodivergent people with abandonment issues who need simple easy directions and assurance that the person giving them will still be there at the end of the night. yeah i got you i know what you're talking about

And like, mood.