Hey guys,  I've had my cat for about 4 years now, and she's currently 8 years old.  I'm having a hard time with keeping her on the same food.  She's been on dozens of different brands.  After awhile her poo starts to stink really bad, and it starts to become loose in texture.  I switch her, its healthy for awhile, and then it starts becoming a problem again.  Currently she's on Instinct dry and Nutro wet.  1 cup of Instinct I give right before I go to bed, and she'll eat it through the night and into the next day and I won't refill until she finishes it.  Nutro "perfect portion" at dinner.  

I'm trying to avoid going to the vet because of $$ but I feel like I'm going to eventually have to take her. 

Does anyone else have issues with their kitties?  I'm kind of on the new cat owner experience as she is my first kitty.

Do you switch food straight out or do you gradually do it? Many cats can't handle "hard" food changes.

Parasite?
If you have a healthy relationship with your vet you can probably get away with starting with a fecal sample, which is not that costly. Then go from there.

 Could be a food allergy but I would rule out parasite by doing a fecal first! The cheapest option would be to rule out any parasites first and go from there!

As others have said I would rule out any parasites first by making sure she is up to date with worming treatment. 

Make sure you switch the food over gradually if you are changing it. I would try and avoid keep changing her food though, maybe keep her on a sensitivy food? and try and rule out if she is better on dry or wet? I have a cat that can only have dry food as any wet will give her diarrhea regardless of brand. If she is on a wet food keep an eye on which flavours you are giving her as well as some animals are more senstivy to one flavour than another. 

You could always try a prescription food such as hills they do diet sensitivty (hypoallergenic) , gastro foods, etc. 

Can they get parasites from being 100% inside?   She honestly hasn't been to the vet in about a year.  The last time I was there the vet said to do wet & dry food.  

I do gradually change the food  vs just changing over night.   The problem starts about 2 months into a new brand vs right away.  Merrick was probably the worst one.  Other brands have been Science Diet, Rachael Ray, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Iams, and now Instinct for dry stuff.  She'll eventually just stop eating the dry stuff and wait until it's time for wet food.

She is SUPER picky on wet food, for awhile it was ONLY chicken pate, but have gotten her to eat Turkey pate.  Will not touch seafood flavors. 

My cats love the gravy lovers wet food and they are on the blue and pink bag of blue buffalo....i mix both together...i have 12 kitties...i do have one cat who prefers to eat the sheba cuts in gravy rather than the gravy lovers, but they all do fine on the blue buffalo...what cat litter do you use?!

I was using the arm and hammer clump and seal for awhile, but I'm currntly using the Breeze system because my mom swears its amazing.. 

https://www.purina.com/tidy-cats/cat-litter-boxes/breeze-systems

It's alright, but her poop smells bad with both of them lol  I live in a small space, so it's also in a "hidden cabinet" kind of set up as well.

We use tidy cats glade its the only one so far that doesnt get that cat litter odor...

It could be that the box is in a closed space too and thats amplifying the smell...

We also get the sandlewood and vanilla spray and spray it on the filters and in the boxes...we actually spray it everywhere lol

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-Gardens-Essential-Oil-Infused-Room-Spray-Sandalwood-Vanilla-8oz/464051985?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=610&&adid=22222222228000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9027354&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=464051985&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoZ-0if217gIVBOPACh1-6gG_EAQYAiABEgKvEvD_BwE

i know nothing about breeze 
but with that being said I have a litter robot and basically have zero smell with clump and seal

I would suggest adding a probiotic to wet food. Something like Forti Flora, has made a difference with similar issues in my cats. But also do a fecal sample like others have suggested.

take her to the vet right away, my sons cat was having some of the same issues as your cat, we didnt take her to the vet and on Sept 2nd last year she was running and playing fine then she just stopped and fell over by the time we got to the vet it was too late to save her. she was only 2 years old, some vets will let you make payments, also check out pet insurance it can save you in the future for vet visits hope this helps  

Thank you for everyone's advice, will try to get her in for an appointment!  Will also look into a probiotic! Lady Rancher did the vet say what was wrong?  So sorry for your kitty :(

Just an update!  I couldn't get into my vet until June, but I have started her on probiotics and she's doing fantastic!

Dang! That's a crazy long apt booked time!
Glad to hear kitty is doing much better!

I think the pandemic made them lose some vets.  They've changed the dog's yearly appointment 3x already, and I scheduled that back in November.

sorry just now saw your question, no they said they couldnt say without an autopsy which we couldnt afford to have done, but we know we'll see her again on Ranbow Bridge

so glad your kitty is doing ok now 

Yesterday the dog had her yearly appointment, and I was able to talk to the vet about everything going on with my cat.  Lately she's been losing weight and peeing alot more.  I was able to squeeze her into an appointment today, So we ran some blood work on her, and I also learned that she has an irregular heart beat, and that she may be older than I originally thought she was.  The rescue must of just put a random age on her when I had adopted her.  But I definetly got a vibe from the vet that it might not be good :(

Oh no :( Keep us updated, Amberellie!