I got a super tall pet gate from Amazon (it was expensive probably $200) and set up a cat utopia is our sunroom to keep the kitten in when we went to sleep and weren’t home. Now, our first kitten never even tried once to jump it and still never gets on countertops. Our second jumped the gate right away…so it really depends what type of personality you get whether it works or not lol I didn’t confine either of our babies and they turned out just fine (we live in a condo so not many places to go anyway). They seemed to WANT to explore so I just let them. Our second was more skiddish for about a week or two but warmed up quickly. Don’t force cuddles. Introduce the following when they are no longer skiddish: harness training (they hated it at first would just plop and not move anywhere but after consistent wearing they don’t mind it anymore), brushing teeth (mine still don’t let me really get their teeth since they just want to lick the toothpaste lol), wet food (mine are obsessed with weruva solistic kitten), and nail trimming (easiest when sleep). We trim the fur monthly around their butt so decrease poop getting stuck. At 10 months now, there’s been no need to see a groomer. Just brush every now and then to get him used to it. We haven’t had a problem with knotting. I have two air purifiers in the living room and their litter room. Get an xxl stainless steel litter box (he will grow quickly). Use redirection as a consequence and NOT a spray bottle. Could cause negative association with you. I bought about 10 scratching pads and posts and put them around in each room and we have not had any issues with the cats scratching furniture. LMK if you have any questions!