In cat behaviorist Ingrid's opinion, the extent to which cats reduce stress and affect their owners' physical and psychological welfare depends on their personal relationship and bond. In other words, each case has to be evaluated separately. There are positives, for sure; but ignoring potential negatives would be naive. And it all comes down to how much we're willing to learn about our pets: the more we're familiar with cats' needs and behavior, the happier we'll be with them as our pets.

"For many people, our pets are a great comfort, a best friend, a listening ear, and a source of unconditional love. Sadly, for others, their cat might stress them out, or they might find the cat annoying. This is usually due to a lack of understanding about how to best care for their cat and meet their needs, train them, etc. Those pet parents should seek the help of a qualified behaviorist! While some research claims that pets relieve stress and lower blood pressure, other studies have disproven this theory."

Ingrid also detailed that, in her experience, cats generally don't tend to develop an instinct to protect their owners or the other pets living in the household. "Not to be negative in any way, but cats often self-preserve. This is how they have survived and evolved to be survivors over thousands of years. Their instincts are generally to hide to avoid danger or to flee. They prefer not to fight as that increases the potential for injury. An injured cat cannot hunt and take care of themselves so 'going into battle' is not their first choice," she said.

What's more, the cat behaviorist pointed out that cats "often like us best when we play hard to get," so our desire to smother them with love and snuggle up to them can make them want to run away. "Respecting an individual cat's preferences for engagement is a good way to respect them," Ingrid told Bored Panda. She highlighted that there are plenty of ways to show our cats our love besides feeding them and that just providing food, water, and litter isn't enough.

"Providing a feline-friendly environment that meets the cat's needs is the best way to ensure you have a happy cat that feels safe and will 'love you back.' This means offering vertical space cat trees or cat condos, playing with your cat daily to offer opportunities to hunt and relieve stress, offering multiple outlets for scratching, and offering different substrates (they all have unique preferences) and just providing an engaging environment."

The joys of owning a cat are countless. For one, you get a companion for life who’s happy to see you when you come back home (even if they sometimes pretend they’re a tad aloof).

But besides being your buddy and your pal, your cat can actually improve your health, according to some scientists. For example, one study showed that cats (and other pets, too, don’t worry, dog lovers) have a calming effect on their owners and help reduce blood pressure and heart rate levels.

This leads to better stress-management and overall improvements in physical (not to mention psychological) health.

Meanwhile, another study has shown that owning a pet for just a month already brought about a “highly significant reduction” in minor health issues, such as colds, back pain, and headaches. The study suggested that getting a pet can have “positive effects on human health and behavior, and that in some cases these effects are relatively long term.”

One thing that researchers noted, however, is that dog owners actually got far more physical exercise than cat owners or those people without pets.

Do you have a cat and think you’d like to prove these scientists wrong? Consider getting a harness and a leash so you can take your cat for a walk outside. Just be sure to talk to your vet about whether that’s a good idea; and remember to not force your feline to do anything it doesn’t want to do. Some tabbies are housecats and they prefer it that way.