History Main / APetIntoTheWild

Contrast with FromStrayToPet, where a stray animal is adopted. Compare to TheRunaway and StrayAnimalStory.

* ''Stray'' by A.N. Wilson is about a cat named Pufftail throughout his life. He has been owned by several owners (both abusive and kind), been abused in a lab, and lived as a stray on the streets.

** Bluestar and Redtail have been studying Rusty for some time. When he wanders into their territory, they have Graypaw attack him as a test. Rusty passes the test and is asked to join [=ThunderClan=]. Rusty decides that since his owners only recently brought him that they aren't attached to him, so they'll [[ReplacementGoldfish move on quickly and get a new kitten]]. With that he joins [=ThunderClan=] the next night.

* ''Fanfic/WarriorsRedux'': The founder of [=ShadowClan=] was a molly named Rowena. She was a former pet who either ran away or was kicked out. Rowena's upbringing as a pet made her unusually caring but also quite naive, resulting in her getting taken advantage of several times. She was empathic and as a result she created a Clan full of the weak and the ostracized.

* In the sequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'', ''Balto II: Wolf Quest'', Aleu is the only one of Balto and Jenna's puppies who is not adopted. This is due to the fact she looks more like a wolf than a dog (her father being a wolf-dog). She ultimately ends up leading a pack of wolves.

This is more common with cats than other pets. Dogs and cats are the most popular animals for xenofiction however, in most developed countries stray dogs are uncommon. They're either rare or are quickly caught by humans. Stray and feral dogs are seen as more of a hazard than a stray cat is, though stray cats are considered more hazardous to the environment than their canine counterparts, and even feral dogs tend to be more tameable than feral cats. In contrasy, stray and feral cats are a common sight even in urban areas.

If they do somehow make it past their first few weeks without being killed or rescued, they'll likely have less-than-fortunate lives filled with hunger, parasites, and danger. Not even feral animals live long (feral cats have a lifespan around 3-5 years in contrast to pets who live 13-20 [[note]]feral barn cats are an exception, as they often live past 20 years old because they eat a healthier, more species-appropriate diet than most indoor-only cats.[[/note]]), nevermind pets who have to learn survival skills as adults. Alas, watching a dog die of starvation isn't exactly fun so most stories (even darker ones) whitewash the harsher aspects.

Characters who were originally pets will often face FantasticRacism from feral animals for having been a pet. This can be anything from mild teasing to full-on aggression. In some works, the offspring of a stray and a pet (or a pet-gone-stray and a stray) will [[HalfBreedDiscrimination face hatred as well]].

* In the end of ''Literature/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron'', Spirit is returned to his herd in the wild alongside his human-raised mate, Rain.

** In the original film, Lady is a pampered pet Cocker Spaniel who leaves her home early on. She doesn't actively seek to become a stray though and ultimately returns home after having a fling with the Tramp. In the end, the Tramp himself [[FromStrayToPet is taken in by Lady's family]] and becomes Lady's mate (though he got her pregnant earlier in the film).

There's a bit of ValuesDissonance to these types of stories. Many, such as ''Literature/WarriorCats'' and ''Literature/VarjakPaw'', are written by European writers. In North Americas there is a large "Inside Cat vs Outside Cat" issue, with most animal welfare groups and cat experts citing that cats should exclusively be inside cats and that it's both abusive and bad for the environment if cats are left outside unattended. In the UK, however, the opposite is true. Leaving your cat inside permanently is seen as abusive and cats are meant to be allowed outside. Many adoption agencies won't even adopt out cats if they're intended to be inside cats. Australia is in the middle ground: letting your cats outside is a good thing, as long as it's daylight because your cat will screw the environment if they're outside at night. Feral animals do exist nevertheless, however North Americans are less likely to glamourize it.

A very common occurrence in {{xenofiction}} media starring domesticated animals is for the protagonists to be strays. This adds a lot of drama to their life (having to flee from predators and humans, having to find food and shelter, dealing with rival animals, etc) but is also convenient for the writers (can create mythos and cultures for the animals, no need for curfews, no being confined by the limits of having an owner, no explanations for why the pets are outside all the time, etc).

If they do somehow make it past their first few weeks without being killed or rescued, they'll likely have less-than-fortunate lives filled with hunger, parasites, and danger. Not even feral animals live long (feral cats have a lifespan around 3-5 years in contrast to pets who live 13-20 [[note]]Barn cats often live past 20 years old because they eat a healthier, more species-appropriate diet than most indoor-only cats.[[/note]]), nevermind pets who have to learn survival skills as adults. Alas, watching a dog die of starvation isn't exactly fun so most stories (even darker ones) whitewash the harsher aspects.

There's a bit of ValuesDissonance to these types of stories. Many, such as ''Literature/WarriorCats'' and ''Literature/VarjakPaw'', are written by European writers. In North Americas there is a large "Inside Cat vs Outside Cat" issue, with most animal welfare groups and cat experts citing that cats should exclusively be inside cats and that it's both abusive and bad for the environment if cats are left outside unattended. In the UK, however, the opposite is true. Leaving your cat inside is seen as abusive and cats are meant to be allowed outside. Many adoption agencies won't even adopt out cats if they're intended to be inside cats. Australia is in the middle ground: letting your cats outside is a good thing, as long as it's daylight because your cat will screw the environment if they're outside at night. Feral animals do exist nevertheless, however North Americans are less likely to glamourize it.

This trope is almost always presented in a more positive light than it is in real life. In real life, pets-gone-stray do not do well in the wild. They don't have the survival skills of feral animals and often times get loose in places completely unsuitable for their species. If they do somehow make it past their first few weeks without being killed or rescued, they'll likely have less-than-fortunate lives filled with hunger, parasites, and danger. Not even feral animals live long (feral cats have a lifespan around 3-5 years in contrast to pets who live 13-20), nevermind pets who have to learn survival skills as adults. Alas, watching a dog die of starvation isn't exactly fun so most stories (even darker ones) whitewash the harsher aspects.

[[AC: {{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]

[[AC: {{Film}} -- Animation]]

[[AC: {{Film}} -- Live Action]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* FromStrayToPet appears in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' but it is much more common for this to occur. The Clans [[FantasticRacism look down upon "kittypets"]] (and it's against the Warrior Code to interact with humans and act like a kittypet), and thus it's rare for them to be taken in by humans permanently; however, many kittypets leave their owners to join the Clans.

* In ''Windrusher'', a cat named Tony is abandoned by his owners. In his effort to find them, he is nicknamed "Windrusher" by other animals.

* Marco from ''Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria'' is a pet cat who can read. After he becomes homeless, he meets a group of cats entrusted with guarding a group of mystical books. An elder chooses Marco as the next in-line to guard one of the most special books.

* ''Literature/TheDogsOfTheDrownedCity'' stars a German Shepherd named Shep who, after a hurricane forces the humans to evacuate, has to leave his home and venture into the surrounding area. Along the way he befriends other dogs who are now on their own.

* ''The Good Dog'' by Avi is about a Malamute named [=McKinley=] who meets a wolf named Lupin. Lupin is trying to persuade dogs to leave their owners and join her pack.
* ''Doglands'' by Tim Willocks is about a puppy named Furgul who is born into a camp for racing Greyhounds. When the owner finds out that Furgul is only half-Greyhound, he tries to kill him but Furgul escapes into the wild.

* The children's book ''Dear Hound'' is about a Deerhound puppy named Alfie who gets loose and gets lost in a forest. He survived on scraps of food from garbages and is helped by a pair of foxes until he returns home.

** The series starts out with a kittypet kitten named Rusty who finds his life as a pet bland and has dreams of being a stray cat. One day he ventures away from home and comes across three cats from [=ThunderClan=]. Due to Bluestar recognizing Rusty as being the cat who will likely fulfill a recent prophecy she has seen, she allows Rusty to join the Clan and renames him "Firepaw". Firepaw is renamed "Fireheart" once he finishes his warrior training and [[spoiler:ultimately becomes "Firestar" when he becomes the new leader of [=ThunderClan=]]].

* FromStrayToPet appears in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' but is much more common for this to occur. Warrior cats [[FantasticRacism look down upon "kittypets"]] (and it's against the Warrior Code to interact with humans and act like a kittypet), and thus it's rare for them to be taken in by humans permanently, however many kittypets leave their owners to join Clans.

** Fireheart brought his nephew, Cloudtail, to [=ThunderClan=] as a young kit. His sister, Princess, wanted to choose what happened to her firstborn as she knew her owners would chose where her other kits went. Cloudtail was [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer ostrasized by others]] for his kittypet heritage but [[ObliviousAdoption didn't even know he was adopted]] until he was almost of apprentice age.
** [[spoiler:Firestar's half brother]] Scourge was a kittypet named "Tiny", who fled his home after his sister told him that any kittens that humans didn't want were thrown into a river.

** Violet's kits were born as kittypets however they wanted to become warriors. Violet let Ravenpaw take them to New [=SkyClan=]
** Socks and Ruby are Scourge's littermates. They bullied him and excluded him from their games growing up. Socks and Ruby ended up brought by twolegs, however, not too long afterwards [[LaserGuidedKarma their twolegs abandoned them after moving away]]. The two begged their brother Scourge to take them in but he chased them off. It's never clarified if Socks and Ruby were adopted or if they lived as loners for the rest of their lifes.

* In ''Disney/TheAristocats'' a molly cat and her kittens are left to die by a butler who is mad that their wealthy owner gave her cats her inheritance and not him. Duchess and her children must find their way home with the help of a stray named Thomas O'Malley. Ultimately they return home and Thomas [[FromStrayToPet gets adopted too]].

* In ''Disney/TheAristocats'' a molly cat and her kittens are left to die by a butler who is mad that their wealthy owner gave her cats her inheritance and not him. Duchess and her children must find their way home with the help of a stray named Thomas O'Malley. Ultimately they return home and Tom [[FromStrayToPet gets adopted too]].

** [[spoiler:Firestar's half brother]] Scourge was a kittypet named "Tiny", who fled his home after his sister told that any kittens that humans didn't want were thrown in the river.

** Sweet is a swift-dog (Greyhound) who lived as a racing dog until she was deemed too old. The dogs were let loose into a pack, instead of being given to shelters or euthanised. The rest of her pack died in the Big Growl.

* ''The Dogs of the Drowned City'' stars a German Shepherd named Shep who, after a hurricane forces the humans to evacuate, is forced to leave his home and venture into the surrounding area.

* ''The Good Dog'' by Avi is about a Malamute named [=McKinley=] who meets a wolf named Lupin who is trying to persuade dogs to leave their owners and join her pack.

There's a bit of ValuesDissonance to these types of stories. Many, such as ''Literature/WarriorCats'' and ''Literature/VarjakPaw'', are written by European writers. In North Americas there is a large "Inside Cat vs Outside Cat" issue, with most animal welfare groups and cat experts citing that cats should exclusively be inside cats and that it'd abusive and bad for the environment if cats are left outside unattended. In the UK, however, the opposite is true. Leaving your cat inside is seen as abusive and cats are meant to be allowed outside. Many adoption agencies won't even adopt out cats if they're intended to be inside cats. Australia is in the middle ground: letting your cats outside is a good thing, as long as it's daylight because your cat will screw the environment if they're outside at night. Feral animals do exist nevertheless, however North Americans are less likely to glamourize it.

* ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' is about a German Shepherd named Bolt who accidentally gets lost. Besides having no experience on his own, Bolt also believes he's a superhero due to being raised on a TV show since puppyhood. He befriends a stray cat named "Mittens" and a hamster named "Rhino" that help him survive. Ultimately Bolt returns to his owner and [[spoiler:his friends [[FromStrayToPet get adopted]] by her too]].