strays
Shelter adoption candidates
Strays are animals, especially dogs or cats, that have wandered from home or have no owner: The shelter takes in strays.
The word also functions as a verb—to stray is to wander from a path, group, or proper place: Don't let your attention stray.
Someone who strays from their marriage commits infidelity.
Stray as an adjective describes things separated from the main body: a stray sock, stray hairs, a stray bullet.
Wild after domestication
- shelterProtected place or structure
- rescueSave from harm
- adoptTake as one's own
- poundWeight, strike, or kennel
sanctuary · alleycat · mongrel · malnourished · tattered · spay · neuter · microchip
Travel without fixed purpose
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- meanderTo travel without direction
- rambleMove or speak without direction
- roveWander without fixed course
range · prowl · traipse · amble · mosey · gallivant · saunter · vagabond
Completely abandoned or discarded
- neglectedNot given proper attention
- unwantedNot wished for
- discardedGotten rid of
- rejectedRefused or turned away
dumped · castoff · orphaned · deserted · homeless · unclaimed · ownerless · forgotten
feral
Wild after domestication
pound · sanctuary · alleycat · mongrel · malnourished · tattered · spay · neuter · microchip · collar
roam
Travel without fixed purpose
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- meanderTo travel without direction
- rambleMove or speak without direction
rove · range · prowl · traipse · amble · mosey · gallivant · saunter · vagabond · nomadic
forsaken
Completely abandoned or discarded
rejected · dumped · castoff · orphaned · deserted · homeless · unclaimed · ownerless · forgotten · left behind
digress
Stray from the topic
drift · wander · tangent · detour · sidetrack · meander · ramble · divert · steer · err
missing
Not present, whereabouts unknown
- misplacedPut in wrong location
- vanishedDisappeared from sight
- disappearedCeased to exist visibly
unfound · searched · wandered · separated · disoriented · recovered · reunited · poster · sighting · microchipped
- animal ethicsanimal ethics, animal welfare, animal rights, animal protection, animal liberation
- stray dogsstreet dogs, feral dogs, ferals, village dogs, junkyard dogs
- dogsdog, beagle, bulldog, boxer, collie
- unclaimed thingslost luggage, abandoned property, lost and found, undelivered mail, lottery winnings
- feral animalsferal cats, feral dogs, feral pigs, feral hogs, feral donkeys
- povertypoverty line, poor, poverty rate, impoverished, generational poverty
strayspets
Domesticated companion animals
domesticated animals · companion animals · purebreds · pedigrees
- stray catHomeless roaming feline
- stray dogAbandoned roaming canine
- stray bulletUnintended gunshot hitting bystanders
- stray kittenAbandoned young cat
- stray animalsUnowned wandering creatures
- stray from the path