Kittens are more physically capable and more curious than most new owners expect, which makes kitten-proofing worth doing properly before the kitten actually arrives rather than reactively afterward.
Before you bring your kitten home
Set up one small, contained room (a bathroom or a bedroom) as the kitten's initial base — a whole house is overwhelming for a young kitten in the first few days, and a smaller space makes it much easier to monitor litter box use and eating in the earliest, most important adjustment period.
Electrical cords and small objects
Kittens chew on cords more readily than adult cats often do, and a chewed live cord is a genuine electrocution risk — use cord covers or route cords out of reach for at least the first several months. Small objects (hair ties, rubber bands, string, thread, small toy parts) are a real intestinal obstruction and, for string specifically, a "linear foreign body" risk that can require surgery — do a floor-level sweep of any room the kitten will access.
Windows and balconies
Kittens can fit through surprisingly small gaps and have less reliable balance and judgment than adult cats. Secure window screens (a kitten can push through or fall through a poorly secured screen) and keep balcony access fully blocked, not just supervised, until the kitten is much older and screens are confirmed secure.
Toxic plants and household chemicals
Check any houseplants against the Poison Database before a kitten has access to them — lilies in particular are a severe risk and should never be in a home with a cat of any age. Store cleaning products, medications, and anything listed in the Poison Database in closed cabinets a kitten can't paw open (kittens are notably good at opening cabinet doors and drawers that don't have child-proof-style latches).
Setting up the essentials
A kitten-appropriate litter box with lower sides than an adult box (a kitten may struggle to climb into a high-sided adult box), a scratching post introduced from day one (this is much easier to establish early than to redirect later), and separate food/water stations away from the litter box. Keep a kitten's first vet visit and vaccination schedule (see the Vaccination Center) planned before arrival, not as an afterthought once the kitten is already home.
The first few days
Expect some hiding and reduced appetite in the first day or two — this is normal adjustment, not necessarily a health problem, but persistent refusal to eat beyond 24 hours warrants a vet call given how quickly kittens can develop complications from not eating (see the Hepatic Lipidosis disease page for why this matters even more in an overweight adult, though kittens have their own, related low-reserve vulnerability). A calm, quiet, contained space for the first week matters more than trying to kitten-proof the whole house on day one.