How much to feed 10 month old cats?

So I have two ten month old cats.  Originally they were getting 7.5 oz to 10 oz a day as young kittens (4-5 months old).  They're nine and ten months old, now, though, and they still want to keep up eating 10 oz a day.  Is this too much?  They're not particularly large cats, 8 pounds each, and one of them is getting a bit plump (not fat, just need to feel a bit more to feel his ribs).  I am VERY conscious of my pets weights, so hence asking.  I also know these particular cats love food more than life itself, so I know they are probably just getting it out of me for the sake of getting it out of me.

They're fed Merrick LID Turkey (5 oz) and Nature's Variety (turkey, chicken, lamb, all 5.5 oz), primarily.  I occasionally feed Weruva and Tiki Cat, and I am also starting them on Stella and Chewy's and Primal Raw, however they haven't had any yet.  I will be adding Hound and Gatos to the rotation.

Side question: I'm also considering adding Soulistic Good Karma and EVO to the rotation list, but I am concerned about the fish oil in EVO.  Will that potentially cause crystals?  They're males.  

Cats keep growing in height and length for the first 12 months of their life and continue to put on muscle mass until they are 2 to 3 years of age. If your cat is only slightly over weight I would continue to feed them both as much as they want for now. A young 8lbs cat requires between 400 to 500 calories daily, but all cats are different depending on their body type and how active they are.

I'm in Asia, so I'm not familiar with the brands you are feeding. However, if they're getting the correct amount of calories from their 10 oz a day I'd keep feeding them as you are.

Do you think they might be begging for food because they want more attention from you? I know my cats demand treats the moment I get home if I'm gone for longer than usual. You could try distracting them with a game or a toy when they start asking for food, to see if that's want they want. If they still seem hungry after play time they probably do need something to eat.

I agree! Keep feeding them as much as they want as long as they're not getting overweight. Our cats kept growing -- and eating a lot -- until they were around two. Their daily ounces were about like your cats' and we were then feeding them some of the same brands you are or will be feeding. As long as you're feeding high-protein, low-carb foods (which pretty much everything on your list is) most of the time, they should be fine.

The combination of raw and canned foods works out very well for us (our cats love Primal and get two meals of it a day) and it's been kind of fun adding home-cooked, too, because the cats love it so much.

About the begging: were your cats rescues? That can often explain cats asking for food even when it doesn't seem like they should be hungry. One of our cats still has problems with that even though she's been with us for two and a half years: they were tiny, underfed ten-month-old kittens when we adopted them.

They were indeed rescues. One of them has some awful separation anxiety I'm dealing with. They grew up in a hoarders house. The cat with separation anxiety was certainly old enough when rescued to be affected by the conditions. The other cat - the begger - was rescued too young to be taken from mom but I don't think anyone knew who mom was in a house with 22 kittens and probably 50 some odd cats total. He refused to eat when being bottle fed and almost died. He certainly has a history with food. I'm thinking he doesn't self regulate well due to everything that happened.


Thanks guys!

This sounds familiar, peacefulchaos: our cats also came from a hoarding situation, too, though it sounded pretty minor compared with what your cats went through. Even so, Edwina, who was very tiny for her age when we adopted her, is still a piglet. It really helps a lot to feed the cats a lot of small meals each day.