Dont buy cat toys that are small enough for them to swallow.

Ideally two sisters that will play and get along with each other.

As others have said, this is a perfect example of things you can’t control. I have had many csts in my life, including siblings that got along well, siblings that hated each other, different strays that got along super well and other that just could stand each other.

The thing about owning cats, especially ones you haven’t had from kittens, is you literally have no control over anything lol… they eat what they like, and use the toilet that they have been trained to use. My recommendation is if you re-home cats, ask the previous owner to show you what they eat (specific brands and types) and what toilet they currently use and start with that. I also feel pure bred type cats will be even pickier. I have Burmese and they are incredibly fussy and set in their ways

Keep some dry food available at all times, so they can snack as they please, but feed them wet food a couple times a day for their main meals: dry food is harder on their kidneys and increases their chances of diabetes in later age. (Both kidney and diabetes issues are manageable with care, but it’s much easier to avoid them if you can!)

Figure out their favorite flavors, including ‘odd’ flavors like duck and venison. Those flavors may change over time, so verify favorites once a year or so. You’ll want at least one, preferably two, “best” flavors for each cat. Then do not feed those flavors to the cat, except to verify they still like them. When it’s time to give them medicines, you want flavors that they don’t eat everyday and that will definitely pique their interests.

If your cat ever needs appetite stimulants, get the transdermal versions. There are two: mirtazapine and ciproheptadine. Mirtz is more commonly used, but it makes some cats very agitated and meow-y. For those reasons, I tend to avoid it: I’m giving appetite meds to the cat because it’s feeling poorly, and I’d like to know that any odd behavior is due to their health issues, not debate myself over whether it’s a health issue or a medication side effect. Ciproheptadine is less common but has less side effects; you should be able to get it made at a compounding pharmacy.

To use: wear surgical gloves, put a dose on your finger, and gently massage it onto the inside of their ear. Their appetite will perk up in about an hour. Alternate ears, and clean the inside of the ears with a damp cotton ball every few days, to avoid medication build up.

If you have other meds to give, pull their regular food, then give them the appetite stimulant. Wait until they’re hungry, mix the meds into their regular food and feed it to them.

Don’t give churu’s or similar gravy as a regular treat; you want to be able to use them to mix meds into.

Get them a cat tree for the living room, someplace they can be tall. Arrange furniture so there’s something for them to sit on at most windows. If you can put beds in a couple of their most-favored places, that would be great!

They’re going to be cautious in a new environment and with new people. Ask if you can bring something from their old home to your new one, to help them settle in: the blanket they slept on (don’t wash it!), something like that. Find out what food and litter they had in the old place and start out using those at your place so they’ll feel a bit better settling in, then slowly transition both over to whatever it is that you prefer.

Put them into one room to start and give them a couple days to settle before slowly introducing them to the rest of the house, especially if you have young children, dogs, or other pets.

They’ll likely take some time to truly warm up to you; be patient.

At first, don’t just bend down and pick them up or bend down and pet them: their instinctive reaction is that something is coming out of the sky for them. Instead, stand a couple feet in front of them and dangle your hand where they can see it. They’ll consider, approach, sniff, then likely brush your hand. This is the signal that it’s okay to touch. Eventually they’ll adjust to you and you won’t have to do that, you can just bend over and touch, but at the start it just makes them tense, especially in a new location with new people.

Probably other stuff, but I don’t remember.

Adopt them together so neither has a claim on the home. Don’t let them out while traveling. They’ll cry and break your heart. Prioritize their safety. Separate containers. You can’t solve a fight with only one. Endure the heartbreak because that’s better than a problem. Get them tagged / chipped. Better than losing one forever. Happy catting!

Lots of great advice being given!

I wanted to note about the litter. We use the pine pellets from Tractor Supply. The caveat though, no real odor control (per store stuff is made with baking soda, farm stuff not). So, we buy a big ass bag from the wholesale store, use an old large spice sprinkling jar that we can refill, and sprinkle pretty liberally around, and then use some of the pet type of scented baking soda and do a light sprinkle. Use a little scoop to spread a lil and it’s good.

We have 4 cats, 6 boxes. Our pine litter goes in a standard pan and a hooded box. Then 2 of the hard zeolite pellet type boxes hat have the urine pad trays, and 2 auto raking boxes with crystal litter. Almost once a month someone will still hit the floor 🙄 Our girl has aim problems sometimes, but she’s still cute.

Litter box math is important. Very simple equation: 1 litter box per cat + 1.

A litter genie (like the pail you linked) is a great choice for building the habit of cleaning the litter box often. Recommended to keep one near each litter box.

Also be aware, pine bedding can be an irritant to humans and cats (and many other mammals). It’s usually not recommended— mostly due to the dust. Pine pellets tend to be more safe due to how they’re processed.

Be wary of canned tuna- it tends to have higher levels of mercury which over time (such as daily feeding) can cause heavy metal poisoning in humans an and small animals. I personally don’t even bother, my cat gets freshly cooked shreds of meat as treats once in a while and special occasions.

On the topic of training: be patient, don’t use a water bottle or snap / loud shouting. Instead, when they’re doing something they shouldn’t be, calmly pick them up and physically move them to somewhere they can be and provide a toy or activity to replace the thing they were trying to do. Such as a string toy or other floppy toy out in the open if they were caught playing with computer wires under the desk. This goes for scratching too, if they are scratching the door/couch/bed/carpet, etc— place cardboard or rope scratching posts and pads nearby and physically move them from the bad spot to the good spot. Move around the good spots as needed based on what you observe. You will have to do this a lot, generally, but be patient and they will get the message. Positive reinforcement includes those toys and scratcher, you don’t have to provide a treat every time, especially as they grow up and become more independent.

As a long time cat owner, I’m just now discovering this and feel stupid it’s taken me this long…

You can get litter de-odorizer… but it’s essentially just baking soda.

You put down a layer of powder, top it with litter, then add another layer on top and mix to combine:

https://articles.hepper.com/cat-litter-deodorizers-vs-baking-soda/

If you’re asking these questions, you’re way ahead of the game and will be fine. Cats a pretty independent.

I think you’re under the impression that you will make choices for your cats; in reality, they will make these choices (and more) and you will have to live with it as their human :) you’ll find out whether they will allow you to use horse bedding, for example.

As kittens, just stick to cat food (no milk!). Generally wet food is considered healthier but perhaps more expensive. I feed my cats 2x/day out of canned wet food. You’ll have to see what they like. Generally stinkier is better. Cat food has is fortified with nutrients they might struggle to get otherwise so if you want to feed them something else like chicken as the basis you will need to supplement it with specific cat multivitamins.

If they’re indoor cats, a pair is generally a good idea so they have company. Also make sure you set aside 15 mins/day at least to play with and engage them. Generally I find my cats don’t play with fancy toys, rather they like tampons, strings and cardboard boxes.

With the vet, again it’s your call and you’ll figure it out with experience. Every vet clinic is different. I would start with the most convenient one, so that you’re incentivized to visit regularly. Your vet will give you a lot of information. Make sure to get vaccinations (edit: and spayed/neutered especially if allow them outside. Also I believe outdoor cats tend to kill a lot of birds/rodents unnecessarily so I think some cat owners put a bell on their cat collar but I don’t know).

You’ll probably want to keep them in a carrier in the car, unless you want them peeing in your car. It’s also possible they get car sick.

Cats tend to love high places, so if that’s something you can offer that’s great. Otherwise they may hide for the first few days and just come out at night so it’s fine to leave food out for them (edit: also if you choose to feed them kibble, make sure they have plenty of access to water as they can get dehydrated otherwise).

Do not give cats dry food. They need water in their diet because they’re not naturally big drinkers and live prey has a ton of water in its meat and organs. Wet food is the closest we can come to their natural diet without making it from scratch. Check out catinfo.org for more info from a vet about this.

Also, please keep them indoors with lots of opportunities for stimulation and play, including scratching posts. And the general rule for litter boxes is the number of cats + 1, so 2 cats need 3 boxes. When trying out an alternative litter, be prepared for them to hate it and the need to switch to normal litter (I had to do this with pine pellets, they hated the bumpy feeling on their feet); same with food—cats are really picky.

I’ve had bad experiences with pine pellets, if for whatever reason you’re unable to change it in time it will go mouldy and irritate your throat and eyes. I ended up going with purinas “tidy cats”, the unscented version. It works the same as clay litter, but there’s not as much dust. For food I always get Acana; it’s more expensive but I think it’s a lot healthier for them just by reading the ingredient list and I rationalize the extra cost by saving on vet visits. Also it makes their coats super pretty looking. :3

*For litter boxes we got these large plastic tubs and some foam mats that were specially made to collect fallen litter from amazon. One of my cats aggressively buried her poop and would get litter all over the place, so this set up helped a bit with the mess haha.

I’d recommend boys over girls. Female cats are notoriously more aggressive, less affectionate, and difficult to train. Male cats are typically easier to live with as long as they’re neutered