What is the best way to reduce amount I feed my cats

I have two cats a male who will be 4 the end of Feb. And a female who will be 3 April 1st. They both came as stays the male came the 29th of Aug. 2013 the female 6 weeks later. Benny The male was very sick and had a fractured left hip he would have died with out the vet giving us antibiotics to give everyone him. Nala the female was screeching in a way that my husband has never heard before or since heard. She was so thin and underweight the vet said she was probably dying when she was crying out.
They had both gotten to a healthy weight at 10lbs and 7lbs. Then this last June we went to my mom's for 6 week's and Bennie lost 1lb and Nala lost 1.2lbs.

I read this a couple of times, and I'm very confused, although it could be the fact it's late and I should be in bed

Are you saying your cats are overweight or underweight, or perfect? If I'm reading correctly, they were at good weights, but then lost weight, so not sure why you want to reduce the amount you feed them.

Sorry I pushed some button that I didn't. Mean too. The two cats are now 11 and 9 lbs that is to big for both. And with Bennie's hip that is even more important that he stay at a good weight.
Last night I put the food up and Bennie had a fit he got on both night stands and nocked things off. Today they both wooded down the food. I don't want them to over eat or worry they will go hungry.
Does any one have any advice?
It took forever to find a food Nala would eat.

I'm hardly an expert when it comes to this, but I did just start my cat on a diet. However, she needs to lose a LOT more weight than yours do.

What were you feeding them before they lost the weight? They are still small enough that just going back to what they ate at the good weight should work. If they weighed a lot more than they should (like mine does) you'd have to take it much slower. But it sounds like Bennie only needs to drop one pound and Nala needs to drop two. I know two pounds is a lot in a cat but I don't think that puts her in the obese category just yet.

How much are you feeding now vs what you were feeding then? Or I should ask, what is the difference?

I have always left their bowls with food in them. In November I started them on Purina beyond. That is the only cat food Nala eats well. They also get fancy feast at night. They each get 1/4 a can and often don't finish that.
They won't eat blue or Iams or science diet, I also tried others to no avail.

So they are gaining weight on the amount of food you were feeding them before? And you are saying you free-feed the Purina Beyond?

They must be really munching on the food at some point. Perhaps you might want to put out a set amount of food each day for them to nibble on. Do you actually measure it out, or do you just fill the bowl? I've had to start measuring it out for Maple, so no more free-feeding for her. My other cats still free-feed, but their bowl is in a place she's too lazy to get to at this point.


Edit: I've googled Purina Beyond. One of them is a tad over 400 cals/cup, the others are all over 460 cals/cup. I'm also looking at their feeding recommendations - they are pretty high! It says for a 5-8 lbs cat, give them 1/3-2/3 cup per day. 2/3 cup of the White Meat Chicken one is 313 calories! My kitty on an extreme diet is getting 220 a day for reference.

So if you are feeding based on the recommendations the company gives, I can see why they are gaining weight!

Thanks. With my cats in the past were more active as my health was good tell 2006. And the 2 I had then would play on there own.
These 2 need a lot of coaxing to even start to play. I feel bad they chose us yet our daughter has asbergers and old thus it is only my husband and I. When my daughter HaileySue and I went to my mother's for 3 weeks between thanksgiving and Christmas. They must of ate all day while my husband was at work.
They felt much heavier I just didn't weigh them due to being sick.
Now I have to start the hard work of helping them to loose weight. Which will include more activity and less food. Hopefully wet food in the morning and evening will make them feel fuller than just dry.
Thanks for your insight. I know in the past I would have thought to look at the calories. My memory has hurt my brain function something awful. I have my good moments and bad. I just have to thank GOD that I have good moments and for this site for my cats. So thanks for taking the time. DSMF