Moved house

[Choccyoclocky]

Sorry it is so long.. i ramble haha.

In short:
moved house, 8yo cat has weed on carpet. What to do? Will it stop?

If you don't mind a read:
My cat is almost 9 years old. He was neutered as a kitten and as soon as he was used to the cat flap, we took the litter tray away. We had no problems after this so he hasn't used a tray in 8 years I'd say.

We moved last week but the new house doesn't have a cat flap so he's back to using a hooded litter tray. Except for 1 accident (I think from too many treats as it wasnt solid!) he has been using the tray for poos. He gets let out during the day/evening but we have to watch him as we didn't move far at all so we are worried he will go back to the old house (he did the first time we let him out and DH stopped watching him).

So far, I think he has been going for a wee in the garden and just using his tray for poo.

But tonight I heard the sound of plucking carpet on the stairs (the only carpet in the house) and I knew he'd done something. He had a wee in the same spot he'd had a poo a week ago. It has got me wondering if he's been weeing there every night and it's just dry by morning.

I blotted as much as possible with kitchen roll and have cleaned with white vinegar. My problem is how do I stop it happening again?

I've taken the hooded lid off his tray and I hid a couple of the wet wee kitchen rolls under his litter in the hopes the smell entices him. At the moment, the tray is right next to the back door, should I move it to where he weed?

The only rooms we could shut him in at night are the kitchen or downstairs toilet. But kitchen wouldn't be hygienic with the tray and I'm not sure I could trust him near the food.. and the toilet might be too cramped.
Plus I like it when he comes for attention in the night and waking up with him snuggled next to me, so I would feel awful.

He seems settled except for this. I hear him taptapping around the house, wanting fuss, chilling on the rug in the lounge, sleeping on the DC's beds or sitting on a windowsill. He isn't trying to hide away or sulking. He is getting under our feet a lot more, before he would following DH but now he's almost tripping him up constantly.

Is it all stress? Will it get better?
I've finally finished cleaning up DC wee and now I'm back to doing it for a cat

Cats need to be kept in for at least 2-3 weeks after moving, he needs to know your new house is his new home before going out. Spend time playing with him and provide enrichment.

And you really need to clean accidents with an enzyme cleaner, Simple Solution is good.

Dcat may be stressed by the move. Hooded trays aren't great for the cat because of being shut in with the waste, think of what festival toilets are like for us. If you rely on the hood to stop the cat from kicking the litter all over the floor, try cutting a u-shaped opening in one side of a plastic storage box and putting litter in the storage box. Some cats prefer one tray for wee and another for poo so try an extra tray.

It's been very difficult to make sure he stays in because DC have been playing outside and they keep forgetting to close the door. But he is only sniffing around the garden or rolling in the dirt. The only times he has gone to the old house are when DH has stopped watching him in the garden.

If I let him in the garden, I was standing at the door with a bag of treats and would randomly call him then give him a treat when he came back, but I think this gave him a dodgy tummy.

The back of the tray is high so I will leave the lid off for now and I'll get a second tray. Would it be best to put it with the poo tray or where he has had a wee?

He is very lazy so doesn't have much interest in playing but with it being half term, we are home and here to give him as much fuss as he wants. We do always call him over to us when he strolls in the room and he sits with me often.

Put the second tray in a different room from the first, otherwise from the feline perspective it's one huge tray. Where he weed before is as good a place as any.