Played it through. The red dashed box teaches the whole rule in about two seconds, no text needed, just the cat staring at one object and the box saying 'this one.' Cleanest tutorial in the jam. First thing I knocked off was the yellow drinking glass, score 30 with 38s left, verdict 'she did it herself.'
Honest read: once the box clicks, the game is reaction speed and nothing else. The box is the whole game. Two ideas: let the streak change what she knocks off (a glass at first, the lamp at the end) so the shelf tells a story; and give one object that takes two taps or resists, so the rhythm breaks once.
Nothing felt unfair. Good luck in the jam.