Why is it than when an atom loses or gains an electron (or a neutron, or a proton) it doesn’t turn into another element?

Question

I’m sorry if this is worded wrong, my science vocabulary isn’t all that in English.

So atoms can lose or gain electrons, protons and neutrons, but when they do, they turn into a different version of that element (ie. an iron cation) instead of another element that has that same amount of neutrons, protons and electrons. How do these changes make an element different, but not enough for it to turn into a different thing?

In: Physics

Answer 1

It does change if it loses a proton

For example plutonium 244 decays into uranium 240 through alpha decay

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_decay