Kitten change of address

Feral mom Pegeen has moved her kittens away from here. It's very sad and mysterious to me. Yesterday morning I got up to find four of the five kittens gone, but Pegeen and big boy Hugo still here. Pegeen then disappeared all day, and Hugo felt so lost. I searched the neighborhood and every nook and cranny close to home, but no sign of them. Last night Pegeen returned to eat, and Hugo and I followed her with a flashlight when she left. She went out to the alley, over one house, down the driveway, and across the next street, where she disappeared between two houses. I scrambled over two fences to keep up with her (fortunately that house was vacant), and shone the flashlight so that Hugo could see her and stay with her.She probably moved the kittens to get them away from the unneutered male cats who come through our backyard to eat. She kept vigilant watch over the kittens, so much that I worried how she ever got any sleep. The kittens were born under my house and had moved to my backyard garage. They bounced around the yard and slept in the bed I set up for them outside the garage door.I wonder why Pegeen left Hugo behind. I wonder if the kittens have a food supply and a safe place to play. Now I may never get Pegeen spayed, and her kittens will remain feral and unneutered as well. They were in my life for less than three weeks, and I didn't have time or space for them, and my other cats are so relieved to see them gone, but I miss the little munchkins. I just keep crying. I don't understand. I can't believe they're gone. I hope they're OK.