Help. Urine problems

I am the mother of three cats.
I have a three year old and 2 1 and a 1/2 year old brothers.
I have had my males since they were 3 months old and were neutered when I got them.
My 3 year old girl and one of the boys are very well behaved and I have had no problems with them.
The other male is another story.
He was fine until 5 months ago when we moved into a different apartment. He went nuts. Cleo(his name) started urinating everywhere.
So I got Feliways for three plugs.
I took him for a check up.
I picked the brains of the pets store experts.
I read the Stickies.
He ruined a sectional and a rug. I could not get the smell out no matter how many enzymes I used.
The vet told us to put him in the bathroom for a few days with the litterbox. He cried for 3 days but I did it. I would bring him out to eat and he was shaking like a leaf.
I bought two litter robots that he seemed to hate. The other two love them and took to them. He did not. He would crouch in attack mode and watch them for hours.
Then he peed on my bed.
So I went out and got a Booda dome.
Then he peed on my bed right next to me and the splash on my arm woke me up.
So I put his bed, the booda dome, a blanket and a scratching post in my daughter's bedroom and figured that he would like it. I put Cat Attract in the box and he has been ok. He peed twice but The litterbox needed cleaning so I understood his rebellion. I have chronic Lyme disease and the body aches are so severe at times that to even get up is a chore. Which is why I bought the litter robots.
So this was 2 months ago. All three cats like to be in the room together but the other two spend time everywhere. He and my girl curl up together and really seem to love each other. She has cared for them since day one but he is her favorite. The other one is too busy being a comedian and a busybody to spend too much time cuddling.
My dilemma is that I have finally found the house I always wanted. It is in the neighborhood I love where there are children for my daughter to play with. She is an only child.
I am renting the home with the option to buy it when the owner puts it on the market.
I cannot go through the stress again. I can't afford to replace my furniture again. I don't want to rehome him because I love him too much. I would wonder how he was coping and if he was being loved. I lost my girl's prior playmate to FIP and she was depressed afterward. I don't want to deprive her of her his company.
He has been better since I have someone else come in and clean the box daily. He is happy when my daughter or I spend time in the room with him. He purrs, chirps and does this adorable half purr half meow thing that makes me laugh.
But I can't keep up anymore. Tonight I saw that he had peed outside of the box again.
Please any advice would be welcomed.

You know, this is just a wild shot in the dark, but I wonder if the previous occupant of the apartment had a cat...

My male had litter box issues - I used Booda domes because my girl, and I, loved them, but had to give them away since my boy definitely did not care for them, although he tried to use them. My suggestions would be:

Follow the suggetions on the Cat Attract brochure to the letter. Use nice new open boxes (I wash mine out with Ivory liquid, which is pretty much unscented). Give him more than one open box to use, in slightly different locations - and don't push the robots on him, a lot of cats never do get used to them.

Clean everything with an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle or try Oxy-cleaner. Then clean it again! Sorry, believe me I know it's a lot of work. If you have carpeting, my shelter suggested renting one of those cleaners from Ace/grocery store and using it, but just with clean cool water.

Give the Feliway a chance to work - it can take a few weeks to have its calming effect. And you might call the vet again - could be the stress may have helped your kitty develop a UTI after he did get a clean bill of health from the vet.

Is your daughter old enough to help with scooping? If so, twice a day, at least, religiously. And clean the whole box out every few weeks and put more Cat Attract in. Give her a chance to help with this kitty if she's old enough - I bet it'll be a good thing for both of them.

And, I know from experience it's hard, but try to stay calm and upbeat with your kitty - I suspect he knows very well you're upset, and it's just making him more tense. I was almost at the point of thinking I'd have to take Dante back to the shelter, and lie through my teeth about the litter box issues. But, with Feliway, Cat Attract, the darn carpet cleaner from Ace Hardware and some patience, knock wood, we've been good.

Best of luck - it's so hard when just loving them can't solve the issue.

Often moving can be very traumatic for pets, some more then others, even if they are together. Understanding your physical restrictions, it is so important that you recognized the need for their litter boxes to be regularly cleaned. You mentioned him being happy when you or your daughter spend time in the room with him, is he in a separate room?

Yes, he is in a separate room.
Thanks so much for taking your time to help. My babies and I appreciate it.

You know your posts got me thinking. The apartment I live in now is super cat friendly. You can have 10 cats in here if you wanted. The owners are cat fanatics. They own about 20 different properties, all nice and all cat friendly. So it is feasible that there was a tomcat or two in here.

About spending time with him. I go in the room 3 or 4 times a day. I cuddle him, kiss him and play with him. I hold him in my arms like the lovable boy he is.
It is so hard because my other two are much better communicators and I know what they feel easily. He on the other hand is a man of mystery. He even sprayed once and both of us looked confused.



I think the open litterbox is a great idea. I will get him two of those. I will clean the boxes twice a day. My daughter is 9 and willing to help. Together we should be able to do a scooping.

Good idea about the black light.
I should get one and do a sweep of the new house BEFORE I move in. I could avoid all sorts of trouble.

I tried an experiment and I let Cleo roam freely while I followed him by sitting in the rooms he visited. He did absolutely fine.
I think the issue is that he needs time to warm up to a place and get his scent in it more than the other two.
My daughter let him out of his crate when we got here right away and that was a mistake.
I used a black light and indeed there are 'spots' here that needed enzyming. So I did that too.
He was so happy to be out. He even used a litter robot just to show off. He is such my baby. So sweet.
He purrs when I walk in the room.I don't even have to touch him just looking at me does it. He just needed some extra TLC and patience.


Thanks everyone.

Oh, I hope the good news continues - bless you and your daughter for your patience and hard work!

Thank you.

The other thing about Cleo is that he and his brother have been together their whole lives and I think being separated for long periods was difficult.
In my bedroom I have a cat tree with ledges on it and a big round bed on the top of it. He is used to hanging out on the top with the other three. So today he did some hanging out up there.
He was so happy.
He poked his head over the side and blinked at me several times.
Again he used the litter robot. Then he came over and wound himself in between my legs.
I am making big plans for the move. This episode has made me understand him so much better.
I am definitely going to stick around here. I have learned so much.