Tweaking Raw Feeding Advice?

My kittens have been on raw since I rescued them at 12 weeks old, and now they're both healthy, active 1-year-5-months cats. I give them Hare Today with Al-Nutrin, and extra ground meat and ground organ. They also each get a can of sardines (in water, no extra salt) around once a week. Two minor concerns: 

(1) One of my cats seems to still shed a fair amount, and has a little dandruff. I comb her with a Furminator, but should I be adding more fish oil to her diet? 

(2) Each cat eats 8oz/day, and still acts hungry. They're probably...around 10lbs each, and indoor cats in a small apartment. They don't seem to be getting fat, and are pretty weight stable, but my cats are like night and day compared to the 4oz/3oz/5oz daily portions I see people feed their cats here. Should I or can I start cutting down their daily intake, or just roll with it? A pound of meat every day means they go through their food (and my budget) rather quickly. 

Also, obligatory cat pics to persuade people to reply! Check out these cuties

Bumping this in the hopes that someone with more experience of raw can help you.

Remember that all cats are different, and some will need more food than others - especially if they're young and active. Condition scoring your cats regularly is the best way to gauge whether you've got it right.

mildlyironic said:

 
My kittens have been on raw since I rescued them at 12 weeks old, and now they're both healthy, active 1-year-5-months cats. I give them Hare Today with Al-Nutrin, and extra ground meat and ground organ. They also each get a can of sardines (in water, no extra salt) around once a week. Two minor concerns: 

(1) One of my cats seems to still shed a fair amount, and has a little dandruff. I comb her with a Furminator, but should I be adding more fish oil to her diet? 

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I haven't noticed any significant difference in the amount of shedding my cats do since switching to raw. They still get the occasional hairball and they still shed heavily in late Spring.

 
(2) Each cat eats 8oz/day, and still acts hungry. They're probably...around 10lbs each, and indoor cats in a small apartment. They don't seem to be getting fat, and are pretty weight stable, but my cats are like night and day compared to the 4oz/3oz/5oz daily portions I see people feed their cats here. Should I or can I start cutting down their daily intake, or just roll with it? A pound of meat every day means they go through their food (and my budget) rather quickly. 

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8 oz a day is a lot for an indoor cat but they are both young and that could account for why they are eating so much.. If they aren't gaining or losing weight I wouldn't make any change.

They are both adorable!

What sweet cats! I wouldn't worry about their food intake either, as long as they're not overweight or gaining: our cats ate nearly that much (albeit in a canned/raw combination) until they were around two. They're a little smaller -- around eight pounds each -- and also indoor cats. Very active indoor cats. My food budget is glad they're slowed down a little, though they still seem to be above average, in terms of eating! Don't be surprised if your cats' appetites start to taper off a little in the next few months.

One other thing: our cats are rescues, too, from a household with too many cats, and they came to us as very underweight eleven-month kittens. Beyond being just plain hungry, they had some serious food insecurities when we first brought them home. They've pretty gotten over them, though still occasionally ask for food when I'm pretty sure they're not really very hungry. Sometimes I think they still want to have something cached for later.

Oh! These kitties are precious, they look like they are the best of friends, thank you for rescuing them!

Is your apartment dry, even in the summer if you are running AC?  I noticed that one of my cats has dander despite a commercial raw diet and fairly regular brushing, sometimes it's the lack of moisture in the air and not necessarily diet related.

Kittens are high energy and even past that kitten stage they can eat like horses. Other than budget concerns, I wouldn't worry too much about feeding both kitties the 8 ounces of food they crave. Both my cats would eat that amount up until they were about three. They are 4.5 years old now and their appetites have tapered off a bit.

I agree with LisaHE re: cats rescued and eating patterns. We adopted our rescues at 2.5 months old and they were rescued from someone who was hoarding cats. Cats learn at a young age about food supply so maybe their appetites have to do with food deprivation based on their past experience.

I also agree with Mschauer - as long as they aren't overweight I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Thank you everyone for the advice! I would not be amazed if there's a little bit of food insecurity; I figure I was feeding them enough while they were growing (also up to 8oz/day/cat, although they started off around 6oz when they were 12 weeks or so), but maybe there were days when they were still hungry. Relatedly, they are pretty active for tiny-space indoor cats

Also, I didn't even think about the humidity--I do keep the AC on, so that very much could be part of the dandruff problem. Time to futz with my climate control!