When you are a cat owner, you can sometimes come to take your cat's health for granted. After all, cats are naturally quite resilient and healthy creatures that do not need a great deal of veterinary care or maintenance. However, even indoor cats that are rarely exposed to the outside world can get sick and need to take a trip to the veterinarian. It is important to know the signs that your cat needs to go to the vet so you can keep them as healthy and as safe as possible all throughout their lives. Get to know some of the signs that you should take your cat to the veterinarian. 

Not Using Their Litter Box Properly

If your cat is box trained well and has never had issues with using a litter box before, it can come as a major surprise to start finding urine or feces outside of the litter box. A cat that has been well-trained will rarely if ever have accidents outside of their litter box when they are healthy. Because of this, if you begin to notice issues of this nature, you will want to take your cat to the vet right away. 

Urinating outside of the litter box, in particular, can be a sign of a urinary tract infection. If left untreated for too long, UTIs can develop into much more serious kidney infections which could be life-threatening. If a major change has occurred in your cat's life recently, such as a move to a new home or a new pet being introduced, this behavior may be stress or anxiety-related, and your cat may need to go on anti-anxiety medications to ease their worries temporarily. 

Talking a Lot More than Usual

You know your cat better than anyone, and as such, you know how "talkative" they are on a normal day. If your cat starts to become a great deal more vocal all of a sudden, you may have cause for concern. The first step to take when your cat in unusually vocal is to try to meet their regular needs. Check their water dish and food dish, and check their litter box for cleanliness. If you do not need to deal with any of these issues, try petting your cat. 

When you have taken care of all of your cat's needs, and they continue to vocalize a great deal or have taken to wandering and vocalizing at night when they never did before, it is time to take them to the vet. They may be "talking" more to try to tell you that they are in pain or do not feel well. A physical examination and tests at the vet's office can help determine what exactly is the cause of this major vocal change. 

Now that you know some of the signs that you should take your cat to the veterinarian, you can be sure you are taking the best possible care of your cat going forward. For more information, contact a company like Animal House Veterinary Hospital.