Need Advice Adopting a Cat to Accompany My Existing Cat

Hello Everybody, It's been a long time since I last posted here.

I have a 8 year old Russian Blue, and am recently considering adopting another cat to keep him company.

He is neutered, and has a really good temper.  He has interacted with some dogs and other cats, and behaved quite well.

He is 8, and isn't as playful as he once was, so I have a few questions for the people here in the know:

1.  Does is matter if the adopted animal is the same or opposite sex?

2.  Do you recommend a younger animal or a mature animal?

3.  Do I need another litter box, and how do I keep them to their own food?

Any other addition advice and recommendations are welcome as well.  Thank you so much!!

Hi! It is wonderful to hear you are thinking of taking on a new addition!

1. It has never been my personal experience that gender matters much so long as both are spayed/neutered- getting a 'personality match' as much as you are able is most important.  

2.  It is usually best if both cats are close in age and relatively similar in temperment.  As an extreme example, young kittens will often drive senior cats CRAZY because they are just too energetic and annoying for them.  Ideally you'll be looking for a cat around your cat's age (give or take a few years) and with a similar activity level.

3.  Yes, the rule of thumb for litterboxes is usually one for each cat + an extra.  If you only have one currently I'd add at least one more but ideally 2 more.  As for keeping them to their own food, one easy way is to feed them in different places.  This is a much bigger problem and issue for some cats than others.

A few articles that might help are found here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/bringing-home-a-new-cat

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/feeding-cats-in-a-multi-cat-household-a-quick-guide

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-multi-cat-household

http://thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

Good luck!!!