Misconceptions about how lost dogs and cats behave may be getting in the way of reuniting those pets with their families.

Kat Albrecht of the Missing Pet Partnership wrote an overview of the things we don't know about how lost pets behave for Maddie's Fund^®. She stressed that understanding these behaviors is the key to a happy ending:

Lost pets do not behave like pets in their own homes. They
demonstrate distinct patterns of behavior common in lost dogs and cats,
often so different from their usual behaviors that their guardians fail
to find them even when nearby.

Missing Pet Partnership
(MPP), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reuniting people
with their lost pets, has studied the issue of lost companion animals
and discovered that understanding those patterns of behavior can
dramatically increase the chances that a lost dog or cat will be
recovered.

They've also put together a program based on those traits that can
give shelter workers another tool to help pet owners find their lost
pets, preventing those dogs and cats from ending up in shelters or being
injured, stolen or killed.

One of her tips:

Cats who are afraid or injured will seek areas of concealment such as
under a deck, under a house, under a porch or in heavy brush.

Most critically, these cats will not meow. Meowing would
give up their location to a predator. Their behavior has nothing to do
with whether the cat loves you, recognizes your voice, or whether s/he
can smell you. It has everything to do with the fact that a panicked cat will hide in silence. So just because you do not see or hear your cat does not mean that s/he is not very close to home.

Get the rest of Albrecht's tips here.