Make a series of images of the same subject but changing the exposure. Pick a scene with a variety of exposure possibilities.
Backlit scenes, like the cat against the window, are good. But there are other possibilities. There are often exposure differences between foreground and background. you might take a subject against a light background and vary the exposure from a silhouette to a “normal” view of the dark subject. Another challenge is very light and dark subjects in the same image.
Make a large number of images, using whatever exposure controls you have on your camera. With a smartphone, use the way it exposes for where you touch on the screen. With a point and shoot, use the half-push on the shutter control. Many point & shoots have a control for exposure compensation — if you have that, by all means use it.
Then post for us 3 to 5 of the most interesting images: ones that turned out well, or ones that are awful!
Note: objects are easier to deal with than people or animals.