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Ingredient Reviews
35% OFF
Vital Essentials
First Auto-Ship
20% OFF
Vital Essentials
First Auto-Ship w/ Code: PAWDIET20
15% OFF
Vital Essentials
For New Customers w/ Code: AFPAWDIET
Whole Paws vs. Vital Essentials
In this comparison article for Whole Paws vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare Whole Paws and Vital Essentials, 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 Vital Essentials vs Whole Paws comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our Whole Paws Review Page or Vital Essentials Review Page.
Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Whole Paws
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.
Whole Paws Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food
| Dry Dog Food | Whole Paws | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 29.8% | 52.2% |
| Crude Fat | 17.3% | 28.7% |
| Crude Fiber | 3.3% | 4.1% |
| Wet/Canned Dog Food | Whole Paws | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 40.5% | 53.7% |
| Crude Fat | 23.6% | 31.0% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.5% | 5.6% |
Crude Protein Comparison For Dog Food
Protein is an extremely important part of your dog's diet. Without sufficient protein, dogs can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.
When you look at the average percentages of crude protein for dry dog food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more protein. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 22.37% more protein than Whole Paws. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than Whole Paws 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.
The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry dog foods provide significantly more fat than Whole Paws. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 11.33% more fat. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials provides more fat (about 7.35% more).
Whole Paws and Vital Essentials both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, Whole Paws and Vital Essentials also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.
Whole Paws Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food
| Dry Cat Food | Whole Paws | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 33.3% | 54.0% |
| Crude Fat | 18.5% | 27.5% |
| Crude Fiber | 7.0% | 5.1% |
| Wet/Canned Cat Food | Whole Paws | Vital Essentials |
| Crude Protein | 46.1% | 50.6% |
| Crude Fat | 23.3% | 18.8% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.5% | 2.5% |
Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food
Protein is an extremely important part of your cat's diet. Without sufficient protein, cats can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.
Vital Essentials dry cat foods clearly provides more protein than Whole Paws. In fact, the difference between the protein content is roughly 20.65%, which is a significant amount. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials provides more protein (about 4.42% 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.
On average, Vital Essentials dry cat food recipes contain 9.02% more fat than Whole Paws recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the fat content of Whole Paws and Vital Essentials. For wet cat foods, Whole Paws provides more fat (about 4.49% more).
There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. For wet cat foods, Whole Paws typically provides a little more fiber (about 3.04% more).
Whole Paws Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients
Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Whole Paws.
Product Safety: Recall History of Whole Paws & Vital Essentials?
According to our records, Whole Paws has never been recalled.
Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.
- July 8, 2015: Listeria monocytogenes
- Jan. 15, 2016: Salmonella
- Feb. 24, 2018: Salmonella
- April 16, 2018: Salmonella
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 Whole Paws Pet Foods
You can purchase Whole Paws pet foods from the following stores:
Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods
You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:
Type Of Pet Foods Available
| Product | Whole Paws | Vital Essentials |
| Dry Dog Food | 5 Recipes | None |
| Wet Dog Food | 7 Recipes | None |
| Dog Treats | 8 Treats | 30 Treats |
| Dry Cat Food | 3 Recipes | None |
| Wet Cat Food | 8 Recipes | None |
| Cat Treats | None | 8 Treats |
Top Rated Whole Paws Recipes
Top Rated Vital Essentials Recipes
