Thoughts on separating littermates

The two kittens I've trapped are littermates. I'm not sure of gender or age (I think about 10 weeks old) - I'll know more after their vet visit this afternoon.

Some of the information I've read states that you have to separate feral littermates, or they will reinforce the wild instincts. 

I currently have the two together in a large dog cage. I don't really have a good way to separate them (at a minimum it would involve buying another cage). My plan is to keep them together, unless they don't make progress toward socialization. If one is more social (hard to tell, since they are both so scared), it may help the more fearful one. Of course, the fearful one may hold the other one back.

Any experiences, positive or negative, in taming littermates?

I am just so relieved that they are off the streets and will never know hunger again. Now I have to cultivate a lot of patience and work with them at their own pace.

My neighbor took in two 10 week old feral littermates after we trapped them a few summers ago. She has other cats in her house, too. Being together made their transition much less stressful, and they were both successfully domesticated in a few weeks. I think it's the kindest way to transition feral kittens into a household, because they don't feel so lonely and freaked out if they have their buddy, especially since they're still missing their parents and other littermates. As long as they're both being handled and cared for by people, they'll bond with their human just fine.  I hope you can let them out of the cage into a room a few hours a day so they can play like normal kittens, and you can interact with them with a wand toy, which will speed up the bonding process. They will likely be withdrawn  while confined in the cage, because this isn't natural for kittens, feral or domesticated. It takes some work, but it will be worth it!

We will let them out to play, once they have settled in and are more accepting of us. They were just trapped - one Wednesday night and one last night.  Despite that, the first one trapped was sitting on top of the kitty condo this morning...which is a good sign. They are fearful but not terrified. We also have other cats, who are aware of the kittens on some level. None of them seem to care :-)  We have one who I am sure will mother them, once she meets the kittens. She has never been a mother, but she is the one who licks all the other cats in the household.

We have a puppy play pen we can use initially for play...then I'll have to find a room I can kitten proof to let them out in.

Thanks for your input. I also feel that keeping them together helps. I saw them snuggling last night.

At ten weeks, they are still young enough to socialize, so keeping them together won't jeopardize that and will help reduce their stress levels. Congrats on trapping them successfully.

Your posts have made me think about getting the remote control for my trap.