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WholeHearted vs. Vital Essentials

In this comparison article for WholeHearted vs Vital Essentials, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare WholeHearted 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 WholeHearted comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our WholeHearted Review Page or Vital Essentials Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. WholeHearted

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.

WholeHearted Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog Food	WholeHearted	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	29.1%	52.2%
Crude Fat	15.6%	28.7%
Crude Fiber	5.6%	4.1%

Wet/Canned Dog Food	WholeHearted	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	43.6%	53.7%
Crude Fat	24.3%	31.0%
Crude Fiber	7.0%	5.6%

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.

On average, Vital Essentials dry dog food recipes contain 23.06% more protein than WholeHearted recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the protein content of WholeHearted and Vital Essentials. Similarly, Vital Essentials wet dog foods provide significantly more protein than WholeHearted wet foods.

Crude Fat Comparison For Dog Food

Like protein, fats are an essential part of a dog's body. Fats are needed for the proper development and function of the canine body.

When you look at the average percentages of crude fat for dry dog food, it's clear that Vital Essentials provides significantly more fat. On average, Vital Essentials guarantees about 13.05% more protein than WholeHearted. For wet dog foods, Vital Essentials provides more fat (about 6.64% more).

As you can see, Vital Essentials and WholeHearted guarantee a similar amount of crude fiber. With regards to wet dog food, WholeHearted and Vital Essentials also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

WholeHearted Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat Food	WholeHearted	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	36.7%	54.0%
Crude Fat	15.9%	27.5%
Crude Fiber	5.2%	5.1%

Wet/Canned Cat Food	WholeHearted	Vital Essentials
Crude Protein	57.0%	50.6%
Crude Fat	17.1%	18.8%
Crude Fiber	7.5%	2.5%

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.

The comparison table above shows that Vital Essentials dry cat foods provide significantly more protein than WholeHearted. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 17.32% more protein. For wet cat foods, WholeHearted provides more protein (about 6.48% 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):

Help transport nutrients across cell membranes
Fats produce metabolites, which help control inflammation
Maintain healthy blood pressure
Slow the growth of yeast infections
Fats improve the taste/texture of food.

Vital Essentials dry cat foods clearly provides more fat than WholeHearted. In fact, the difference between the fat content is roughly 11.68%, which is a significant amount. For wet cat foods, Vital Essentials and WholeHearted provide roughly the same amount of fat.

Vital Essentials and WholeHearted both provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber. For wet cat foods, WholeHearted provides more fiber (about 5.01% more).

WholeHearted Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by WholeHearted.

Beet Pulp

Canola Oil

Iron Oxide

Pea Protein

Caramel Color

Tomato Pomace

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 WholeHearted.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Product Safety: Recall History of WholeHearted & Vital Essentials?

According to our records, WholeHearted 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 WholeHearted Pet Foods

You can purchase WholeHearted pet foods from the following stores:

Where To Buy Vital Essentials Pet Foods

You can purchase Vital Essentials pet food products from these retailers:

47 Recipes In-Stock Today

43 Recipes In-Stock Today

21 Recipes In-Stock Today

23 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product	WholeHearted	Vital Essentials
Dry Dog Food	22 Recipes	None
Wet Dog Food	21 Recipes	None
Dog Treats	18 Treats	30 Treats
Dry Cat Food	11 Recipes	None
Wet Cat Food	17 Recipes	None
Cat Treats	14 Treats	8 Treats