Heya, I'm sorry to hear about your cat, but I must say, the weird meowing with the addition of progressive paralysis and being unable to eat or drink are some very, very, concerning symptoms to see in a pet. I highly, highly reccommend that you and your family get your rabies shots ASAP if you haven't already (a lot of places give them for free, I highly reccommend checking if you region does that too), I'm very serious about this. Please do not wait for symptoms to appear. It might take months or years for symptoms to appear, but by the time that happens it will be too late.
You might also need to consult with a vet or a doctor about what to do if you come into contact with other animals during the past year too.
Im sorry, this isn't probably what you'd like to hear, but those are some extremely concerning symptoms to find and I hope you and your family are safe.
Once again, I'm very sorry to hear about your cat. I know it's not possible for everyone to keep indoor cats, but if you can, I highly reccommend it to keep your cats safe from disease and accidents.