Many things are painful in life, but none contain such anguish as seeing an adorable kitten and knowing that you are not allowed to pet it.

At least, that’s what I thought seeing the newest additions to the North Carolina Zoo family.

Sand Cat Sahara gave birth to two adorable kittens on Feb. 26. Sahara and her breeding partner, Cosmo, have had a total of five kittens together, with these two cuties being the newest.

As you can see in the picture, their eyes are open, their ears are perked up, but they are still curled up to mom’s side, mostly sleeping and nursing.

“They are still trying to figure out this whole life thing,” wrote the Zoo. Aren’t we all?

Sahara is a protective mom, you see. The Zoo said she has been able to bring them out into her Desert Dome habitat, but only chose to do so yesterday morning. And who can blame a girl for wanting a little privacy?

At this point, it is too early to tell what the sexes of the cats are, so they don’t have names yet. However, I for one will be waiting with bated breath for the information to arrive.

So if you need a cute fix, momma Sahara and babies will be at the Desert Dome at the North Carolina Zoo. But please, don’t bang on the glass, the Zoo urges. For the sand cats, and the other animals.