Will my cat be over protective of her kittens?

I brought in a stray cat, who is now my little athena. When we brought her in she was as skinny as a twig, and my neighboor told me that she had gotten pregnant last year and she lost her whole litter of kittens because she was starving, and couldn't feed them. We brought her in, realizing later on that she was pregnant, will she be over protective, and will she reject her kitten if I hold them? Me and my cat have a good enough bond, she purrs when I touch her and cuddles with me all the time


Cheers x

 There is no way to predict exactly how she will be.     Most mama cats are protective of their kittens , especially while the kittens are really tiny and helpless,  but if you have a close bond with her and she trusts you,  I would guess she will understand that you are helping her and her babies,  and she will probably let you touch the kittens and hold them  if you stay there and don't take the kitten away out of her sight. 

One person she trusts touching the kittens, in a quiet, safe environment,  would not make her reject the the kittens.   ( That happens more in some species of wild animals.)  Your cat may show that she wants you to give the kitten back ( do put it back ASAP if she starts getting distressed)  and she may immediately give it a bath,  but she is extremely unlikely to reject the kitten because you touched it.

 What you really do want to avoid is a lot of activity and noise, other pets bothering her,  excited kids coming in frequently,  or strangers coming in and picking up the baby kittens.    Those kind of things could make her very stressed out and it would not be good for her or the kittens.  It is best to have one room as the "nursery" ( maybe your bedroom) and keep the mama and kittens in that room. 

  When you first touch a kitten,  just sit by the nest and first pet her as she is lying with them,  then try petting a kitten at the same time.   

For the first couple weeks,  you should an only minimal handling of the kittens.  At that age all they need to do is sleep and nurse  Just handle them no more than a few minutes each day, enough to pick them up and check them  to make sure they are OK and  weigh them.  And to change the bedding as needed.   That small amount of gentle human contact is good,  but they really don't need more yet -- the important socialization to humans will come later, especially from 4 to 12 weeks.