Cats are among Australia's most popular pets, with around one in four Australian households enjoying the love and affection of a feline friend. But it seems the benefits don't end there: researchers have found a strong link between cat ownership and heart health.

"The findings of a study of more than 4,000 Americans over 10 years have shown that owning a cat could reduce your risk of a heart attack by nearly one third," says Susie Willis from the Petcare Information and Advisory Service (PIAS).

Pet ownership, in general, has been shown to have important physical and emotional benefits, with Australian researchers at the Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne being among the first to identify that pet owners had lower levels of risk factors for cardiovascular disease than non-pet owners.

"This latest piece of research makes a distinct link between cat ownership and a lower risk of death from heart attack. While it may be some time before we fully understand why this is the case, the fact that cats love to sit quietly and be stroked may be an important factor. Stroking a cat is known to reduce stress levels and this may be what has a positive effect on heart rate and blood pressure," says Susie.

Cat owner, Tamara, is not surprised by the findings, saying that her cat, Jacques, helps her relax and see the funny side of a stressful situation.

"He uses every opportunity to play and will invent games for himself if there is no-one to play with. The sound of him purring is instantly relaxing, I know he is happy and that makes me happy," says Tamara.

"We all know that pets provide health benefits and many people recognise that walking the dog can help heart health. While increased walking is part of a healthy lifestyle, owning a dog may not suit everyone. Cats are an incredibly low maintenance pet and it seems they can contribute to heart health just by being part of your life," says Susie.

PetRescue, which runs Australia's largest online directory of rescue pets, reports that there has been a steady increase in people looking to adopt a cat since the launch of their "It's cool having a cat around" app on facebook.

"We have just passed the milestone of re-homing 100,000 pets since we started in 2005. Cats are great pets and we wanted to draw attention to the gorgeous cats that are available for re-homing. This app features the little things that all cat owners know and love, and makes it easy to see what a cat would add to your life," says Vickie Davy from PetRescue.

"We have kittens, young adults and older cats available on www.petrescue.com.au and they all come with unique looks and personalities. An older cat is a great choice for someone who wants to skip the livewire kitten stage and have a stress-free companion," says Vickie.