A student of mine just called with a problem.  Her cat, which had been
extremely lethargic and off his feed the last few days, gave her a severe
bite which punctured her middle left finger all the way through at the tip.
 (This was while she was trying to hold him up at a water dish, as he could
not stand unsupported.)  It took her about 5 minutes to pry his mouth off
of her, she said.  She called animal control, who came out, said the cat
was near death, and they put him down.  They will be sending whatever gets
sent for diagnosis to Tampa tomorrow to test for rabies.  They also
mentioned that distemper is going around.  She hesitates to put much trust
in these people at animal control;  it's well known locally that they're
very incompetent, unorganized, and lie when something needs to be covered
up.  She called her pediatrician for advice, as her 6 month-old is still
completely breastfed.  They told her that until they know what was wrong
with the cat, they can't offer any advice.  Her first reaction was not to
nurse the baby until more is known.  Unfortunately, she has no expressed
milk in her freezer.  It only took a few hours for both her and baby to
become totally miserable.  Tried to give him formula, but he wouldn't
accept the bottle........so they're nursing at present.   As for the wound,
she is an RN and has been taking good care of it, but it's very sore and
throbbing.

With the little we know now at supper time on Sunday, here are our
questions:

Is it safe for her to nurse?  If the cat was rabid (and it really didn't
seem to have the classical symptoms, but that lock-jawed incident is
bothersome), how long would it take before the milk would be affected?

If she needs shots for rabies, can she nurse?

Any suggestions for alternatives to formula to feed this baby in the
interim?  We can get her organically-raised goats' milk.

And yes, I've already referred her to my favorite LC, who just today sent
me her e-mail address, so she's also getting a copy of this post.

I'll let you know what we find out.  Thanks so much!

Sue LaLeike
Lehigh Acres, FL