What to do for my remaining baby

Question
Last night I came to find my three and half year old maine coon cat dead.  He was gone well before I got there.  The vet had suspected about 10 months ago that he had heart disease after he had an attack of sorts.  He wasn't able to breathe suddenly and I thought he was choking.  They took an x-ray and found fluid on his lungs.  Because of the way the liquid was sitting on his lungs they thought it was heart disease.  We did the ultra-sounds and all the necessary tests and the vet then concluded that it didn't look like heart disease but if it was, it wasn't in advance stages.  He was put on an diuretic to ease the fluid that kept accumulating on his chest and that was it.  He was doing well with it and we were in the process of weaning him off of it when he died.  He coughed and threw up sometimes but showed no other signs of being sick.  Yesterday morning he was fine when I left for work, normal disposition and everyting.  My other cat has shown absolutely no signs of anything being wrong with her. I'm assuming his death was in some way related to his previous medical issues.  That being said, do you think it is necessary to take my little girl to the vet to make sure nothing was transmitted to her?  She was with his body for an unknown amount of time after his death.  She hasn't shown any signs of any illness ever.  Also what should I do about the litter box situation?  I had two litter boxes, one for each cat but now that I only have one cat should I reduce it to one litter box?  Should I leave both there until she has adjusted to life as an only kitty?  Should I get her a new friend to pal around with sooner rather than later?  How soon would be too soon?  I just really want to make sure I do whatever I can to make her be okay and I don't know what to do.

Answer
Hi Shannon.  SO sorry to hear that your little one passed away.  That's awful, and such a sad loss.  

As far as the taking your remaining one to the vet, sure... if you want to.  CGD (Congenital Heart Disease) isn't contagious, but if it would make you feel better, then by all means.  One litter box for sure, otherwise your kitty will still be looking for the other cat, and when hers is the only poop in the box, she'll freak out slightly and wonder where her friend has gone.  I'd wait for about a month (an adjustment period) to make sure that you give her lots of love.  It's a time of mourning for you and your family too, so you don't want to rush that.  WHen the time is right, you'l know.  When you DO get the new one, seclusion is important.  In an office, spare bedroom, something like that, so that they can sniff each other under the door.  About a week should do it.

Good luck!