Purina Pro Plan Vs Iams 2024: Which pet food gets Fur-st place?

Iams vs Purina Pro Plan

Quality nutrition is a vital item on every pet care itinerary, therefore, if you want your furry friend to remain happy and agile then the food you provide for your dogs and cats must be very healthful and desirous.

Before deciding what brand of pet food to introduce into your pet’s feeding plan, you might want to consider the breed, age and size of the dog and/or cat as this will help guide your choice and purchase.

By the end of this article you would have learn everything you need to know about your pet’s nutrition and how to make the best pet food choice for your furry friend.

Now you’ve established the features and characteristics of your dog and/or cat, let’s see which of these two pet food brand, Iams or Purina Pro Plan, will best suit your pet.

After you are done with this awesome comparison, Check out Iams and Purina pro plan here to see the different flavors and pricing

Contents:

🤔Iams vs Purina Pro Plan FAQ

What is guaranteed analysis?

The concept of guaranteed analysis on pet food products is to assure purchasers of the precise nutrient content of each consumable. Emphasized by AAFCO, guaranteed analysis by food labels must meet certain requirements such as an exact value for the minimum percentage of crude protein and fat, as well as the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture on the basis of dry matter obtained. All of the percentages that I use in this comparison are averages of dry matter basis. Learn about dry matter basis here.
Which brand has more protein?

Purina Pro Plan has 4.39% more protein than what Iams offers for dry dog foods and 5.30% more protein than Iams for wet dog foods. Purina Pro Plan dry cat foods has 9.47% more protein than Iams, also, 1.0% more protein than Iams for wet feline foods. whereas Iams still offers adequate protein content for pets daily needs.
It is safe to say that Purina Pro Plan has more protein than Iams across all foods types.

Which brand is cheaper

The Purina Pro Plan brand is more expensive than the Iams brand across all meal type while still regarded as an affordable brand.

Which brand has more flavor?

Purina Pro plan brand has more flavors than the Iams brand. It dominates with an aggregate of 165 flavors while the Iams brand has 85 flavors for both dogs and cats.

Which brand has had more recalls?

Purina Pro Plan has had recalls just once whereas Iams has been recalled twice.

check out the current prices, recipes, and flavors for Iams and Purina pro plan.

⚖️ Iams and Purina Pro Plan Pros and Cons

Iams Pros:

Iams Cons:

Purina Pro Plan pros:

Purina Pro Plan cons:

😻 Types Of Pet Food

Product (Dog Food)Purina Pro PlanIams
Dry Food 42 recipes 28 recipes
Wet Food 29 recipes 10 recipes
Treats 2 recipes
Product (Cat Food)    
Dry Food 22 recipes 14 recipes
Wet Food 66 recipes 31 recipes
Treats 4 treats 2 treats
😻 See all purina pro plan recipes😻 see all Iams recipes

Both brands offer quite a number of dry and wet foods as well as treats for both dogs and cats, however, the Iams brand does not have any treat for our canine friends but we can always make that up with the treat Purina Pro Plan offers.

🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison: Iams vs Purina Pro Plan

Do you mostly choose your pet’s food based on quantity or quality?

Does the pet food that you have always purchased meet your pet’s standard nutritional requirement?

While feeding our canine and feline friends we should pay more attention to quality much more than quantity.

The quality of the pet food you choose to buy can have a compelling effect on the health of your pet.

Protein, fat, fiber and moisture are vcompulsory nutritional requirement for every pet food. The amounts of these nutrients vary depending on the brand and product, so let’s see what Purina Pro Plan and Iams guarantee.

Purina Pro PlanProtein (dry)Protein (wet)Fat (dry)Fat(wet)Fiber (dry) Fiber (wet)
Dog 31.8% 47.3% 17.9% 16.4% 4.3% 7.2%
Cat 45.6% 51.5% 17.4% 17.1% 3.6% 6.9%
Iams            
Dog 27.4% 42.0% 14.6% 24.0% 5.1% 5.8%
Cat 36.2% 50.5% 16.8% 19.0% 4.3% 14.7%
🥕 See more Purina pro plan info🥕 See more Iams info

Protein

Many pet owners have varying ideas about how much protein is too much or too little for their pet. Often times there is also a debate on which protein source is most suitable for pets. Here is one thing every pet owner needs to understand. Protein is IMPORTANT, and might just be the most important component in every pet diet.

Felines are more demanding of protein as they are mostly carnivores. Canines on the other hand are Omnivores and can survive on plants, protein, carbs, and basically any other edible meal you throw at them. However, in order for your canine pet to look healthy, robust and full of life and vigor you must provide them with adequate protein daily.

proteins are generally made up of amino acids. Some of these amino acids can be synthesized by pets naturally while some others cannot be synthesized in the body and this is why your pet requires a particular daily amount of protein to enable them metabolize and synthesize the required amino acids for daily functions.

So what are generally the source of protein for pets? Fish, poultry, dairy, and beef. Each of these products or their byproducts can be harvested and used to manufacture world-class pet food diets that meet the protein requirements of regulation bodies.

Even though protein is highly essential, its intake in pets must be regulated to avoid feeding them excess protein which can cause damage to various organs in the body such as the kidneys as well as causing indigestion. To make this easy for you, every pet food already contains a protein amount that is within the safety range so you wouldn’t need to worry about how much protein you are feeding your dog or cat.

As far as protein content goes, Purina Pro Plan is seen to dominate on both cat and dog foods.

Fat Content

It is a known fact that our pets require a reasonable amount of fat in their meals for proper growth and development. An adult dog requires at least 10 to 15% fat to maintain a sound health.

Now that we have established that fat is necessary there is also such a thing as too much fat. this can happen if you decide to feed your pets that contains fat as a main ingredient on daily basis.

Too much fat can pile up calories for your pet. I mean… a sumo-Garfield is not exactly what anyone has in mind as a feline pet. So how can this be avoided? Perhaps watch the amount of fat your pet consumes and also reduce the unnecessary treats.

The issue of fat varies, depending on the type of pet you own. If you own a dog, and a very active one, you know that your dog is literally a fat burning machine and required that good fat in order to keep up the energy level as well as maintain its shiny skin and beautiful fur coat. In this case, fat is desired in high quantities. However, if you own a pet that doesn’t move around much but rather prefers to relax on the sofa watching rescue dogs then you know that you have to watch the fat content or you may have yourself a blob pretty soon.

Fats used in pet food dishes are highly digestible and provide twice the energy gotten from protein and carbohydrates. Fats are made up of units of fatty acids which are required for your pet’s metabolism and daily activities.

Fibre Content

In many parts of the world including the United States pets are mostly kept inside the house. Why? because they are such precious creatures and should be kept safe inside the house. The good news is that your pet is completely safe from harm, the bad news is that your pet gets less and less exercise.

you are probably wondering what this has to do with fiber. There are times when your indoors pet comes up with various health problems related to digestion. This may be due to the ingredients used in the pet food and also a lack of exercise. so what does fiber do? Fiber works as a catalyst for digestion, ensuring that all food substances are broken down in the small intestine. Hence, fiber is highly essential in pet food.

What exactly are fibers? Fibers are bits of indigestible carbohydrates that are contained in food. sources of carbohydrates can be quite numerous, from animal bones to plant leaves of hard tissue. Fiber can help avoid issues of indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, and other digestive system problems.

Cats are simply the cutest things on earth but imagine the amount of hairball that they ingest while grooming themselves. The hairball swallowing can be chaotic to the digestive system without fiber to help ease the digestive processes. To ensure that your pet gets the best meals, free from digestive problems, ensure that there is adequate fiber in every meal.

💰 Price Comparison

Pet owners on a budget could easily get exhausted when it comes to picking the food that is just right for their furry companions.

The price of cat and dog food is one thing we all think about and take into consideration when planning our pet care system.

With so many brand options and pet food vendors populating the food market, tracking down the prices of your pet’s food becomes tricky and confusing.

However, devoting some quality time to gather good information (as provided in this article) and restructuring the budget of your pet care because of the food and treat of choice will not be such a bad idea as we want the best for cats and dogs.

To better understand pet food comparison, see the table below for the different price metrics for Purina Pro Plan and Iams.

Dog Food Purina Pro Plan (dry) Purina Pro Plan (wet) Iams (dry) Iams (wet)
Per pound $2.01 $2.84 $1.41 $1.67
Per calorie $0.0011 $0.0063 0.0008 $0.0034
         
Cat Food Purina Pro Plan (dry) Purina Pro Plan (wet) Iams (dry) Iams (wet)
Per pound $2.90 $4.94 $1.70 $4.82
Per Calorie $0.0016 $0.0116 $0.0010 $0.0101

💰 See the best Purina pro plan prices

💰 See the Iam prices

It is more accurate to use the average cost-per-kcal metrics when comparing the prices of pet foods if your interest is on the dry matter of the food product.

However, if you are also interested in knowing the cost of both the dry matter and moisture of the food content then, the average cost-per-lb metrics will suit your need perfectly.

The Purina Pro Plan brand seems to be more expensive than the Iams brand but the difference in price is not so much.

In addition, both brands offer 100% money back guarantee for all their products if positive results are not seen immediately.

So where is the best place to purchase these brands? Good question! Overall, Chewy.com has the cheapest price.

They also offer 30% on your first autoship order which saves you a good chunk of change and makes your pet food ordering process automatic. Overall, this has saved me a ton of time.

🤤 Ingredients and Flavors

Both brands provide wet and dry dog and cat foods as well as treats for all pet sizes, breeds and activity levels but the Iams brand offer no treat for dogs.

Purina Pro Plan

Purina Pro Plan offers great dog and cat food products. The primary protein content of this brand is chicken while the primary carbohydrate content is rice without any unnecessary fillers.

The Purina Pro Plan brand uses simple yet high quality chicken, brewers rice, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal digest, ground wheat, garlic powder, soybean hulls, soybean flour, corn germ meal, whole grain corn, dried corn syrup, whole grain wheat, soybean protein concentrate, poultry by-products, vitamins and minerals.

Every ingredient Purina Pro Plan uses is purposefully added to deliver quality nutrition and flavor that makes every bit irresistible.

Popular Flavors

  • Chunky chicken entree
  • DM Dietetic management formula
  • Pro Plan dog weight management
  • Chicken Pasta and spinach entree
  • Salmon and rice formula
  • Chicken and beef entree

Iams

The Iams brand prides itself on providing outstanding nutritional formulas to our dogs and cats. Iams offer several variants to accommodate regular and specific dietary pet needs.

The brand formulates its recipes using several premium quality chicken protein and chicken by-product, Chicken Fat with variants of Tocopherols, whole grain corn caramels,
sorghum, carrots, spinach, corn grits,
beet pulp, fish digests, oatmeal and tomato pomace.

Other ingredients include oil, pea protein, canola meal and brewers rice, caramel color, wheat gluten, vegetable oil, corn gluten meal, poultry giblets, dry meat by-products, powdered cellulose, ground yellow corn, animal fat, dry apple, poultry by-product meal, soybean vitamins blueberry pomace, and minerals.

All these ingredients are combined in different proportions to give the delicious variant offered by this brand.

popular flavors

  • Minichunks dry dog food chicken
  • Flaked mackerel and whitefish
  • Ocean fish formula
  • Salmon and tuna

Check out the Iams and Purina pro plan recipes here

🏡 About Iams and Purina Pro Plan

Purina Pro Plan Information

The acquisition of Ralston Purina by Nestle in the year 2001 led to the birth of the Purina Pro Plan brand. The Brand was originally owned by William H. Danforth and had been producing quality pet food diet under the brand name Purina Mills since 1894.

The Purina Pro Plan is one of a kind and an industry leader in the manufacturing and distribution of pet foods. The Brand is directly affiliated with other sister brands such as Purina Dog chow and Purina one under the Nestle Purina PetCare Corporation.

The Brand has made major progress in the production of pet food for felines, Canines, and horses showing diversity in flavors and specific formulas for age groups.

what makes the Purina Pro Plan so special? Its various meal types contain adequate nutrients fit for variations in size, age, life style, and formulated to stimulate brain functions to improve overall development.

Iams Information

Since 1946 the Iams pet food brand has improved on quality and variations of its pet food flavor along with its creativity in the use of ingredients to provide nourishing meals for pets, specifically canines and felines.

The founder, Paul F.Iams believed that the key to a healthy pet was in the quality and quantity of ingredients formulated to provide the best health solutions as well as a great taste for pets.

The Iams brand is owned by Mars Incorporation and Spectrum Brand. These brands were the first to develop age specific meals for cat and dogs. These meals formulas contained specific ingredients that are vital for various stages of pet’s aging process. All meals were produced from natural ingredients.

🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History

Companies make scheduled recalls on products that may have a foreseen defect or safety issues. The importance of a recall is to conduct further safety tests in order to effect changes to product to ensure that it is safe for use.

Purina Pro Plan Recalls

  • March 9th 2016 – Inapposite quality and quantity of Vitamins and Minerals

Iams Recalls

  • Aug. 14, 2013: Salmonella contamination
  • July 30, 2010: Salmonella contamination

🏆Purina Pro Plan Vs Iams : And the winner goes to…

Although both brands are unique in their own ways, Purina Pro Plan is the brand of choice based on nutritional value, number of recalls and number of variants.

However, if you are on a strict budget, Iams will be a more affordable brand for your pets.

If you wantThen you should choose
The best choice on nutritional values Purina pro plan
A wider variety of flavors Purina pro plan
Safety, based on number of recalls Purina pro plan
The most cost effective option Iams
A diet for all age levels Both brands

References:

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/purina-pro-plan-dog-food-dry/

https://www.proplan.com/

https://www.iams.com/

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