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Addiction vs Vital Essentials

Addiction vs. Vital Essentials

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

Guaranteed Analysis: Vital Essentials vs. Addiction

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.

Addiction Dog Food vs. Vital Essentials Dog Food

Dry Dog FoodAddictionVital Essentials
Crude Protein25.0%52.2%
Crude Fat13.1%28.7%
Crude Fiber5.7%4.1%

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 Addiction. More specifically, Vital Essentials guarantees at least 27.19% more protein.


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 Addiction. In fact, the difference between the fat content is roughly 15.54%, which is a significant amount.


There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands.

Addiction Cat Food vs. Vital Essentials Cat Food

Dry Cat FoodAddictionVital Essentials
Crude Protein33.3%54.0%
Crude Fat17.0%27.5%
Crude Fiber4.1%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 20.65% more protein than Addiction recipes. Clearly, there is a significant difference between the protein content of Addiction and Vital Essentials.


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 10.50% more protein than Addiction.


Both brands provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Addiction Pet Food Ingredients vs. Vital Essentials Pet Food Ingredients

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

Liver
Garlic
Canola Oil
Pea Protein

Product Safety: Recall History of Addiction & Vital Essentials?

Addiction has been recalled once.

  • Sept. 8, 2016: Incorrect Vitamin/Minerals

Vital Essentials has been recalled 4 times.

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

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Dog FoodAddictionVital Essentials
Per Pound$7.46$37.19
Per Calorie$0.0047$0.0186
Dry Cat FoodAddictionVital Essentials
Per Pound$4.55$39.03
Per Calorie$0.0028$0.0200

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 Addiction or Vital Essentials, 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 Addiction or Vital Essentials will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for Addiction and Vital Essentials. 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 Addiction Pet Foods

You can purchase Addiction pet foods from the following stores:


21 Recipes In-Stock Today

19 Recipes In-Stock Today

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

ProductAddictionVital Essentials
Dry Dog Food7 RecipesNone
Wet Dog FoodNoneNone
Dog Treats4 Treats30 Treats
Dry Cat Food3 RecipesNone
Wet Cat FoodNoneNone
Cat TreatsNone8 Treats

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Top Rated Vital Essentials Recipes

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