> She sat far away and just watched while my hubby was working with it.
As others have mentioned... to animals like cats and dogs, animals that are quite intelligent, humans must seem vaguely god-like. If there was a god just down the block and your babies were dying... you'd quite likely gather your courage and deliver your babies to that god.
What would be interesting to see is if you managed to save one of the kittens, restore it to health, and return it... maybe every time you opened your door there'd be a sacrificial offering of a dead snake or field mouse or something left on your porch.
In a heartbeat.
If I could just find the litter. I don't know where else to look. We got the flashlights last night and looked in every crack and crevice where they might be. I went out again this morning and looked again. She has them hidden very good.