If it really did have rabies, then the doctor should have put all involved through rabies treatment. The hissing done by the cat sprays saliva droplets into the air and one can contract rabies like that.
Friend in Calif. was bitten by a rabid skunk and both the son and husband who help kill the skunk had to take treatments. It is no longer the painful thing it once was and they all survived.
It's a series of shots in the rump with an ENORMOUS needle.