Get the cat neutered early. Not only will he begin to spray and roll around in dirt, but if you happen to allow him to be an outdoor cat he will fight with other neighborhood kitties, to the point of serious injury or death. Additionally, he will be impossible to keep inside if he is not neutered.
If this is your first cat, be prepared for the possibility that he can be ferocious and damn near mean as a kitten. Try to ignore it, do not train the cat as you would a dog. Not that I have ever purposely hurt any of my kittens, but my first kitty was a little devil like no other, and I was ignorant to cat raising, so in attempting to restrain the cat to avoid gashes in my legs I ended up making the cat even more rough. Cats are fucking tough, and also more empathetic than they would lead you to believe, so the more strength you show with them the more they will show with you. If you are gentle while playing, they will learn to keep their claws in. But if you are rough (I'm not talking about hurting the cat, once again, simply rough playing) they will come at you with full force. If the cat gets too rough, ignore him as best you can. They will get gentler with time provided you do. Also keep in mind that cats really seem to like rough play, they need to adjust to your levels. If you have ever seen a litter together you see how tough they are. Some of them will lead you into the rough play trap while their claws hardly break skin, but if you continue with the level aggression that he wants it will take time to train out of him when his claws start doing real damage.
Don't ever make the mistake of spoiling them with treats. Seriously, they will bother you day and night. It takes a while to train out, and all it takes for my cats to relapse back into bratty treat behavior for a month is one extra portion on one day.
Speaking of which, learn kitty language. One of my cats would jump up on my table and lick my food in order to get treats, and I was able to cure him after two years of this behavior by hissing at him. It only took two occasions, and he hasn't jumped up on the table since (he is my bad communication kitty, he doesn't know how to get what he wants by being vocal like my other cats, so he relies on annoying behavior and persistence in it until I finally make the lucky guess). He was terrified, and I felt bad and consoled him, but he learned quick. I would only use this technique on an adult cat who still has bad habits that I am otherwise unable to train out, never a kitten who is just forming his/her maternal bond with you (every owner becomes the new mommy to their kitten). Judging by how terrified my cat got, I would say this is a surprisingly extreme method, so be sure to only use it as an absolute last resort to a problem that can be easily communicated with them.
Buy good food. Look for cat food that contains chicken as the primary ingredient. Most cat food seems to contain marrow or stock as the primary, but provided you compare prices and ingredients you will find that the companies that use better ingredients are of a similar price to the companies using disgusting ingredients. Some of the most expensive brands contain crappy ingredients as well.
Do not get your cat declawed. As a good vet would explain it, it is similar to cutting off human fingertips. Claws are even more essential to cats, as should they ever find their way outside they use them to survive (climbing and self-defense). It is a brutal and totally selfish idea. Just buy the right scratching post and you will be fine, although some furniture damage is simply to be expected.
Sick. I am not usually a lid-closer, but now I pretty much have to be. Ew.
