EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Pets Take Flight, but Most Return : Animals: Experts will hold meeting in Simi Valley to offer tips to owners in face of continuing aftershocks.

Hundreds of pets have been reported missing since Monday’s earthquake and hundreds more may soon flee their homes as they become panicky and jittery with continuing aftershocks, animal experts said Thursday.

Dogs often bolt from their houses or yards during an earthquake in a frantic effort to run away from the danger. But cats usually hide, seeking a dark and quiet spot where they could remain for days.

Pet owners who have had to move out of their houses should return to their homes each evening to put out food and water in case their pets make their way home, said Cathy Jenks, director of the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department.

Cat owners should search closets and other secluded places inside and outside the house, bringing food and water to the animals if the animals are too frightened to be moved.

“But people should not give up,” Jenks said. “They have to keep looking.”

Owners of missing pets should visit shelters to look for their animals and check the lists of injured or dead animals at the shelters as well, said psychologist Deena Case-Paul, who counsels people on the loss of a pet and animal behavior.

“Knowing is better than not knowing,” Case-Paul said. “You have to have closure and you have to grieve.”

Case-Paul said people should not minimize grieving or a sense of loss over missing pets. “Pets are members of the family too,” she said. “And for many people who live alone, they are the only family member close by.”

Case-Paul will speak at a meeting tonight in Simi Valley set up by the Ventura County Veterinary Medical Assn. on dealing with missing or lost pets. She will determine at the meeting whether there is a need for a pet loss support group in the earthquake-damaged areas of the county.

Case-Paul and other animal authorities urged pet owners to attend the free meeting to help them cope with grief or find their pets.

“There was a similar effort after the Oakland firestorms in 1991,” said veterinarian Al Schwartz of Moorpark, who organized tonight’s meeting for the Veterinary Medical Assn. “Of the 400 animals lost, 337 were returned to their owners. There is definitely a ray of hope out there.”

Schwartz, who visited most animal hospitals in areas hit hard by the quake, estimated the number of animals injured at up to 200. Up to 25 animals were killed, he said.

At the American Veterinary Hospital in Simi Valley, veterinarian John Anderson said his facility alone has treated 30 to 40 animals injured by falling objects or debris. They were forced to put to sleep another 20 pets that were too seriously injured to save.

“We have had several bad cases with animals with spinal injuries or crushed pelvises,” he said. “We even had one tortoise with his shell crushed.”

But Anderson hopes that Speedy the tortoise will be one of the hospital’s success stories.

“We fitted him with an artificial shell made of the acrylic material we use in artificial hips,” he said. “Speedy apparently comes to the front door when he wants to come into the house and turtles over to the refrigerator for treats, so his owners were quite upset at the prospect of losing him.”

Because animals can feel even slight aftershocks that go unnoticed by humans, they can experience severe stress following an event like Monday’s magnitude 6.6 earthquake, Anderson said.

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Among the signs of stress are pacing, crying, vomiting, nervousness, sleeplessness, periodic shaking, lack of appetite and bloody diarrhea, experts said. If any of the symptoms are severe, pet owners should contact their veterinarians. They should not attempt to tranquilize nervous animals without professional advice.

Other measures that pet owners should take, experts said, include:

* Calling Ventura County Animal Control at 388-4341 to report a lost pet.

* Trying to keep pets on their normal schedules to reduce anxiety, and do not offer additional treats or junk food that would upset their systems.

* Attaching name tags for pets with current information on your name, address and telephone number.

* Being sympathetic during a quake, but not overly affectionate that would send a confusing message to the pet that you like its fearful behavior.

* Approaching stray pets very cautiously, if at all. A better course is to trap or confine the animal and call the Animal Regulation Department.

FYI

Ventura County Animal Regulation Department officials will discuss efforts to find pets lost during the earthquake and aftershocks at a meeting from 7 to 9 tonight at the Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 E. Avenida Simi, next to City Hall. A psychologist will talk about the emotional impacts of losing a pet, and a veterinarian will address pet health. For more information, call 529-7003.