History Main / AbandonedPetInABox

[[caption-width-right:350:[-"If it's always once upon a time in New York City, why does nightfall find you feeling so alone?"-] ]]

* At the end of the second story arc of ''LightNovel/RascalDoesNotDreamOfBunnyGirlSenpai'', Sakuta & Mai find a kitten abandoned in a box while walking home. Sakuta ends up taking it back to his apartment, as he and his sister Kaede already own a cat.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''LightNovel/MyTeenRomanticComedySNAFU''. A little kitty is left in a box to get [[HugeSchoolgirl Saki Kawasaki]]'s attention, but failed. Instead, [[IceQueen Yukino Yukinoshita]] drops her coldness to stay in front of the box [[CutenessProximity meowing with the kitty]].

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' where Po is found in an empty radish box, but only because he's eaten everything in it. Of course [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals he's not a pet in this case.]]

* Sphynx the cat from ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/to-aru-majutsu-no-index/images/0/01/Sphinx_in_a_box.png was left in a box]] and adopted by Index.

A popular method of introducing a LoyalAnimalCompanion, or APetIntoTheWild if the poor animal doesn't get adopted right away. Sister trope to FromStrayToPet and DoorstopBaby. See also GirlInABox, which uses boxes to introduce a likely major character.

In many works of fiction, there comes a time when a character will be walking along when, suddenly, they see a cardboard box on the side of the road. Inside said box is inevitably an abandoned CuteKitten or PreciousPuppy, left by an irresponsible pet owner, just begging to be taken home. For some reason, they never seem to leave the box even if the cats, especially, could jump out easily.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom''. During the meeting inside Catarina's mind after Keith is introduced, one of the Catarina personas briefly suggests Catarina should subject Keith to this so that he would have nothing to do with the Claes. Eventually, however, they decided that, owing to his backstory, her [[BadFuture doom flags]] with Keith can simply be averted by her being nice to him.

* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', Kenichi and Miu come across Kisara, who is standing in front of a box with a kitten in it. When she kicks the box into the alley, [[BerserkButton Miu decides to kill her]], only to be surprised that [[KindheartedCatLover Kisara actually was feeding the kitten, and lamenting that she couldn't take it home with her]]. This leads to the two becoming friends over their shared love for cats.

* In the very first volume of ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'', this is how Shin-chan first meet his pet puppy, Shiro, abandoned in a box. A later volume published several years later would reveal that Shiro was one of a litter of several puppies, who was abandoned by it's owner due to the ex-owner's father suddenly developing a fatal allergy to dogs. There's a rather bittersweet moment showing Shiro's ex-owner watching Shin-chan adopt Shiro from behind a lamp post and silently bidding Shiro a farewell.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1523851247025630700
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

%% Examples in this page have been sorted alphabetically by work titles. Please add new examples accordingly.

* In the very first episode of ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'', Ichiro finds a Shiba Inu dog in a cardboard by the road and decides to take her in, despite the reluctance of his family, naming her Hanako. And later that same episode, Hanako will find herself to be [[spoiler: the only witness to Ichiro and Shishigami's fatal accident with the UFO and their reconstruction as robots.]] This only happens in the anime, while in the manga he takes Hanako in after buying her from a doghouse.

* In one episode of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'', Doraemon helps Nobita secretly care for a box of puppies/kittens. After some [[ItMakesSenseInContext time travel and thought process acceleration]], the two returned to find that the dogs and cats became humanoid, gained the ability to talk, and built a sophisticated civilization with advanced technology. Apparently, the now-humanoid dogs and cats have decided to leave the Earth to another planet because they've predicted that the Earth will be facing a world-wide disaster.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

* In the very first episode of ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'', Ichiro finds a Shiba Inu dog in a cardboard by the road and decides to take her in, despite the reluctance of his family, naming her Hanako. And later that same episode, Hanako will find herself to be [[spoiler: the only witness to Ichiro and Shishigami's fatal accident with the UFO and their reconstruction as robots.]] This only happens in the anime, as in the manga he takes Hanako in after buying her from a doghouse.

* In the very first episode of ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'', Ichiro finds a Shiba Inu dog in a cardboard by the road and decides to take her in, despite the reluctance of his family, naming her Hanako. And later that same episode, Janaki will find herself to be [[spoiler: the only witness to Ichiro and Shishigami's fatal accident with the UFO and their reconstruction as robots.]] This only happens in the anime, as in the manga he takes Hanako in after buying her from a doghouse.

* In the very first episode of ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'', Ichiro finds a Shiba Inu dog in a cardboard by the road and decides to take her in, despite the reluctance of his family, naming her Hanako. And later that same episode, Janaki will find herself to be [[spoiler: the only witness to Ichiro and Shishigami's fatal accident with the UFO and their reconstruction as robots.]]

* In the very first episode of ''Manga/Inuyashiki'', Ichiro finds a Shiba Inu dog in a cardboard by the road and decides to take her in, despite the reluctance of his family, naming her Hanako. And later that same episode, Janaki will find herself to be [[spoiler: the only witness to Ichiro and Shishigami's fatal accident with the UFO and their reconstruction as robots.]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

[[/folder]]

A kind passerby will [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe fawn over]] or otherwise react with sympathy for the abandoned animals and may even adopt them; more callous characters will ignore them or mistreat them outright. The animals themselves may or may not get adopted; luckier ones find their forever homes on the sidewalk while less fortunate puppies and kittens may often have to go through further hardships before finding their happy endings.

* ''Manga/MyRoommateIsACat'': Haru and her four brothers were originally left in a cardboard box, and had to fend for themselves out on the streets.
* In ''Manga/MagicalGirlSite'', Aya befriends a stray kitten who was abandoned in a box. She gives it a collar and food, but she's unable to take it home. Her [[TheBully bullies]] find out about the cat and [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals kill it]] just to spite her.
* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', Kenichi and Miu come across Kisara, who is standing in front of a box with a kitten in it. When she kicks the box into the alley, [[BerserkButton Miu decides to kill her]], only to be surprised that [[KindheartedCatLover Kisara actually was feeding the kitten, and lamenting that she couldn't take it home with her]]. This leads to the two becoming friends over their shared love for cats.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/FoodWars'' after Erina runs away from home with the help of Alice, Ryou and Hisako. While they're busy arguing as to where she's supposed to go, at one point Hisako protests that Erina isn't a stray cat, making Erina have an ImagineSpot of herself as a cat (still with her long hair) inside a box.
* In episode 12a of ''Anime/JewelpetMagicalChange'', Airi tells Labra she understands her feelings about wanting a pet all too well and brings up how she and her friends once found a cat left alone in a box. Labra misunderstands this as "pets can be found in all cardboard boxes" and goes to find a box, leading to her adopting a banana as a pet.

* In ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia'', Izuku finds a puppy stuck in a box alone while hanging out in Vale. He takes it to the pet store and the vet, upon which he learns that it's a girl. He then takes her home to his dorm, upon which Team MNVW instantly falls in love with her. He ends up surrendering the puppy, now christened "Lulu-Bell, Lord of Thunder", to the shelter because he isn't sure if they'll have time to take care of her, but later returns to formally adopt her.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13030518/6/In-Sickness In Sickness]]'' Harry finds a kitten in a soggy cardboard box in an alley.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' where Po is found in an empty radish box, but only because he's eaten everything in it. Of course [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals he's not a pet in this case.]]

* In ''Manga/MahouShoujoSite'', Aya befriends a stray kitten who was abandoned in a box. She gives it a collar and food, but she's unable to take it home. Her [[TheBully bullies]] find out about the cat and [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals kill it]] just to spite her.

* This is how Maika finds Owner, the TeamPet of Cafe Stile. Of course, she fears this was due to [[FaceOfAThug his scary expression]], leading to her fearing [[DoorstopBaby the same thing happened to her]] (no, it didn’t).