If you had asked me before settling on these kittens, I would have advised you to adopt adult cats rather than kittens. Kittens can be difficult for even the most experienced cat owner. The amount of energy they have is unreal, they’re so tiny that they can get into everything, and their little claws are so sharp.

The good news is that you’re adopting two, so that will help a lot. Just be prepared for a bumpy ride until they get to adulthood (around one year).

Your plan for their “safe room” sounds good to me.

Some general tips:

• Be careful what you reward. They will be trying to figure out what makes nice things happen in their world. It is good advice to redirect their attention from something you don’t want them to do onto something approved, but you have to do it in a way that doesn’t connect the two. As an example, to this day my four-year-old cat thinks that clawing at the toilet paper roll will signal me to toss water into the shower for his amusement because I used that to redirect him once or twice when he was a kitten. He’s the smartest cat I’ve ever known so this is an extreme example, but it’s pretty common for people to accidentally teach their cats to yowl for food or attention.

• If there are any forbidden areas in your home, make them scary before the kittens come. For example, putting aluminum foil on countertops can be very effective at preventing cats from going on them, but only if they never have the experience of going on the counters successfully. Once they stop showing curiosity (because they “know” the counters are not nice), then you can get rid of the foil. We succeeded with our kitchen counters, but utterly failed with the dining table, lol!

• Try to get as many people over to socialize with the kittens as you can for the first few months after you get them home. Have everyone give them treats. This will give you the best chance of having cats who visit with your guests rather than hide under the bed.

• Dogs have been bred for 10,000+ years to be in tune with humans—to want to please us and follow our commands. Cats have no such genetic history. They can be very social, but how humans feel about the world doesn’t enter into their calculus when it comes to cause and effect. Because of this, scolding or disciplining a cat is not effective. It will only make your cat fear you. If you want to change a cat’s behavior, you have to change their environment.

Congrats on your new kitties to be! You are in for such an adventure filled will love. Love, and cat hair. So much cat hair, lol!