Marmalade is STILL sick! GRRR

Ok... well, i've posted a similar story before. Tried to look for the post under my name so I didn't have to make a new thread.. but couldn't find it sorry.

Ok... the ending from the previous story went something like this: The vet told me to stop feeding Marmalade fish, because she's too young, and that might be why she's puking and getting the runs frequently.

I stopped feeding her fish. As soon as I did that, she stopped getting the runs so much... so I figured that advice was good. I didn't have to keep taking her to the vet anyway. I haven't taken her back to the vet for a few months now, which has saved me SOME money.

However... she still has moments where she gets vomitting and diarrhoea. I don't know why. She's not getting fish at all. I'm feeding her a mix of dry food and wet food every day. I'm feeding her the supermarket brand Whiskas. I have no idea if this is good for her or not... but it's the most popular... so I figure it's ok. Please tell me if i'm wrong (and suggest what I should feed her INSTEAD thanks!). Her bowls are clean all the time. She's always got fresh water. I'm thinking maybe she's fussy, and can't eat the same food, or type of food over and over again?

I know she has to be wormed again. She's gotta go to the vet for this one anyway... but I wanted your advice first.

What do you reckon could be wrong with her? What should I do? I'm almost certain it's diet related again. What else could I feed her PERMANENTLY to help settle her stomach. Would plain chicken be sufficient forever?

One last thing. I want opinions on outdoor/indoors too. I rarely ever let Marmalade outdoors. She's been out maybe a maximum 10 times since I got her 6 months ago. Could the lack of going outdoors be causing her guts problems?

I'm a pensioner. She drives me psycho as it is with her psycho behaviour... and it's even more of an annoyance/bother for her to be constantly sick. She's costing me a lot of money. I want to take care of her, and ride through this rough patch with her. I don't want to have to give her up... but I fear this is exactly what i'm going to have to do!

Please help!

Thanks

If the vet is certain its a dietary issue, you can try changing her food to something higher quality to see. Maybe try a grain-free canned food.
Do you change her dry food at all? Switching brands of dry suddenly can cause stomach problems.

There are a ton of brands of high quality food (some more expensive than others) that you can try. She might have an allergy/sensitivity to something in the cheap food. They don't seem to have problems switching wet food brands, so feel free to experiment with different kinds. We give ours 3-4 different kinds a week.
Wellness, Innova, Merrick, Natural Balance, just to name a few. There are cheaper brands that are decent too, you just have to know how to read labels.

As for being indoors/outdoors, I highly doubt that has anything to do with her stomach problems. It definitely sounds like a physical issue.

I pretty much only feed her whiskas wet food. It's usually beef/liver/lamb/turkey flavours. Never the same thing really. Her food gets switched around a lot in that regard. Her dry food is nearly always the same. Always whiskas as well. Though sometimes i'll buy the stuff I was told they fed her when she was in the pound.

I do think it's a dietary issue myself though. She refuses to eat the food i'm giving her. She wont even eat the dry food i've given her... which is unusual. She is still active, and she is still drinking her water though. Which is good. I have to take her to the vet though, so I shall do that sometime this week.

I wanted to put in my two cents as I had much the same issue with MY boy and after months of messy yucky stuff everywhere I found the solution for MY boy - which no one has yet suggested. Here goes.

1. Give your kitty some plain, canned pumpkin (not spiced or pie mix). 1 tablespoon for breakfast and one for dinner... this will help keep kitty more regular.

2. TRY removing the wet food and using only dry. I realize wet food is the most "wanted" and "recommended" food but with MY BOY it didn't matter what kind of wet food I used (I tried top of the line all the way to cheapest) wet food just makes him ILL. He loves it but IMMEDIATELY after eating it (or nearly immediately) he would be ill. Usually with yucky poop... very messy diarrhea. I removed the wet - got him on HIGH QUALITY DRY (blue wilderness) which took about 1 month (I went really slow) and he has not had a sick tummy since! Wet is not fed to him any more.

3. I also let him have cat grass (not a LOT cuz that might make things worse) but nibble at it once or twice a day for about 2 minutes each time. This stopped any and all hairball related/gagging issues.

I now have a happy kitty with a non sick tummy and we have found the balance but it took us 4 months to FIND that balance. Don't give up, if it is diet related you will figure it out. In the mean time keep wetwipes handy and have your kitty's bum shaved if it has long hair... this makes cleanup much easier.

Well, the good news is... she's eating more.... and she hasn't got diarrhoea anymore either. I caved and let her go outside for the day to eat grass. She didn't poop for the rest of the day (that I saw), and finally the next day (in the afternoon) she did a poo and it was normal again. So yeah. I figure she just needed the grass. In the past my parents have said to give her some weetbix... and that too works. She goes NUTS for that stuff! She is eating pretty much as normal again. Though she still seems to prefer her dry food over her wet food. I'm hesitant to put her on a totally dry food diet, though I know she drinks heaps of water every day... I know they can develop a lot of kidney issues.