Firstly, a big thank you to LW for suggesting the squirt bottle as a training aid. While I didn't use the amonia, a quick shot of water from the bottle sends him packing when he ventures too near the truck's pedals.
Yesterday was Socrates' first day in the truck. He was terrified to say the least. The moment I fired up the big diesel he scampered for a hiding place and remained there all morning. He finally ventured out when I stopped for lunch and everything quit shaking and bumping around. It was obvious that he was seriously stressed out.
I spent a little time petting and consoling him and he played for a few minutes. When it was time to roll again I placed him in his cat bed which is strapped to the passenger seat, and then fired up the engine. He was off like a shot back into the hiding place in the sleeper. I figured the best thing was to let him be.
When we finally stopped last night it was obvious that he had spent most or all of his hiding time sleeping because he was wound up tight and ready to play. I did my best to wear him out playing and let him run around the truck to his heart's content. I then laid down to get some sleep, but he was still in the mood to play. I finally managed to get a little sleep.
He did help out with the load though. He made sure I didn't over sleep this morning. Of course, since he can't tell time the best he could do was to wake me up every few hours until it was finally time to get up. Nice of him to be so helpful.
Today he was a new cat. When I fired up the rig he showed no signs of fear at all. He was like "hey, no big deal, been there done that." He spent the day exploring the truck and playing.
Our biggest problem was the area around the pedals. That's the only place in the truck he isn't allowed to go so naturally that was the one place in the truck he was determined to be. I must have moved him away from there a couple of dozens times today, scolding him with a stern NO! each time. Did no good at all. Finally I found a Wally World and pulled in to buy a squirt bottle.
Bingo! Worked like a charm. Nothing like a shot of cold water between the shoulder blades to get a kitten's attention. It only took two shots to convince him that maybe it was a good time to play with the toys in the cat bed for a while.
He's also figured out that when the truck is stopped is when I can pay more attention to him and as soon as we stop he wants to play. Right now I am trying to type this, eat a bite of dinner, and play with a rather insane acting kitty. I'm also struggling to convince him that I can spell just fine and really don't need his help typing this.
As I've been typing he has invented a new game. He will run over and jump up on the driver's seat, climb up to the top of the seat, and then make a mad dive into the sleeper straight for the laptop. Geesh, he's nuts. LOL
Maybe I can teach him to do my paperwork for me.