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Vital Essentials vs. I and Love and You

In this comparison article for Vital Essentials vs I and Love and You, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Vital Essentials and I and Love and You, we'll use up-to-date nutritional and price information.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best pet food brand for your pet. Factors such as ingredient quality, guaranteed analysis, product safety, brand history, and cost are among the most important factors to consider.

Throughout this I and Love and You vs Vital Essentials comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Vital Essentials Review Page or I and Love and You Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: I and Love and You vs. Vital Essentials

According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content. The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

All percentages used in this comparison are averages reported on a dry matter basis.

Vital Essentials Dog Food vs. I and Love and You Dog Food

Dry Dog Food	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Crude Protein	52.2%	33.8%
Crude Fat	28.7%	15.4%
Crude Fiber	4.1%	5.0%

Wet/Canned Dog Food	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Crude Protein	53.7%	42.1%
Crude Fat	31.0%	18.1%
Crude Fiber	5.6%	5.5%

Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food

Dogs require twenty-two amino acids to sustain life. Twelve of these amino acids are synthesized naturally, the remaining ten are consumed. Protein is the nutrient which provides some or all of these ten essential amino acids.

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry dog foods provide significantly more protein than I and Love and You. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 18.40% more protein. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than I and Love and You wet foods.

Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Fats are an absolutely vital component of a balanced canine diet. Not only do fats provide energy, but they also serve important roles in the normal development and function of your dog's body. For example, fats help dogs produce prostaglandins, which reduce inflammation among many other significant functions.

Vital Essentials dry dog foods clearly provides more fat than I and Love and You. In fact, the difference between the fat content is roughly 13.30%, which is a significant amount. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than I and Love and You wet foods.

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. With regards to wet dog food, Vital Essentials and I and Love and You also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Vital Essentials Cat Food vs. I and Love and You Cat Food

Dry Cat Food	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Crude Protein	54.0%	43.0%
Crude Fat	27.5%	15.9%
Crude Fiber	5.1%	4.7%

Wet/Canned Cat Food	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Crude Protein	50.6%	45.4%
Crude Fat	18.8%	18.2%
Crude Fiber	2.5%	5.1%

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Cats require twenty-two amino acids to sustain life. Eleven of these amino acids are synthesized naturally, the remaining eleven are consumed. Protein is the nutrient which provides some or all of these eleven essential amino acids.

On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 11.00% more protein than I and Love and You recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the protein content of I and Love and You and Vital Essentials. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials provides more protein (about 5.20% more).

Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

There are many ways in which dietary fat contributes to the overall health of our feline friends. Here is a short list of benefits provided by fats (not exhaustive):

Fats help with the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
Reduce inflammation associated with arthritis
Slow the growth of yeast infections
Prevent or reduce the likelihood of certain heart problems.
Aid in the development of the retina and visual cortex.

When you look at the average percentages of crude fat for dry cat food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more fat. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 11.61% more protein than I and Love and You. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials and I and Love and You provide roughly the same amount of fat.

Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, I and Love and You typically provides a little more fiber (about 2.64% more).

Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients vs. I and Love and You Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by I and Love and You.

Garlic

Canola Oil

Pea Protein

Powdered Cellulose

Dried Tomato Pomace

Canola Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by I and Love and You.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Menadione Sodium Disulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of Vital Essentials & I and Love and You?

Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.

July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
April 16, 2018: Salmonella

I and Love and You has been recalled once.

July 14, 2015: Salmonella

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog Food	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Per Pound	$37.19	$6.91
Per Calorie	$0.0186	$0.0043

Dry Cat Food	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Per Pound	$39.03	$3.67
Per Calorie	$0.0200	$0.0023

The average cost-per-lb is heavily influenced by the varying amounts of moisture present in each brand's food products (wet vs. dry food, dry vs. freeze-dried food, etc). However, the average cost-per-kcal eliminates the influence of moisture. Therefore, the average cost-per-kcal is the better metric to consider.

If you'd like to calculate the average cost-per-day or cost-pet-year of feeding Vital Essentials or I and Love and You, input your pet's weight into our cost analyzer widget.

Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference between two brands. However, the actual price that you'll pay for Vital Essentials or I and Love and You will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Vital Essentials and I and Love and You. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.

Disclosure: PawDiet has an affiliate relationship with stores featured (or linked-to) in this article. We are compensated for referring customers. Thank you for shopping with our retail partners!

Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet foods from the following stores:

47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy I and Love and You Pet Foods

You can purchase I and Love and You pet food products from these retailers:

50 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

39 Recipes In-Stock Today

13 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product	Vital Essentials	I and Love and You
Dry Dog Food	None	11 Recipes
Wet Dog Food	None	6 Recipes
Dog Treats	30 Treats	11 Treats
Dry Cat Food	None	7 Recipes
Wet Cat Food	None	12 Recipes
Cat Treats	8 Treats	2 Treats