The past few weeks have been rough on ol' Cus

It's not uncommon for Copernicus, pictured above, to sleep upwards of 20 hours a day - but, by his very nature, he's a nomad sleeper, first on the laundry sorter, next by window facing the south and later by the window facing north, etc. So when he didn't move an inch for almost two days, without so much as a trip to the litter box even, we knew something was amiss. I tried to feed him some Whiska Lickin's, but though he sniffed them longingly and even scooped one in his mouth, he couldn't eat them and let the one fall onto the bed. We took him in to the vet who took all of 30 seconds to poke his sides and belly, check his ears and nose, shove a rectal thermometer up his keister and diagnose that it was not bobcat fever (thank the Lord). However, he did have some sort of viral infection. The doc showed me some painful ulcers on C's tongue, which had been keeping him from eating or licking his fur. He stayed a few days at the vet with a iv in his front leg. We went to see him twice a day - bringing an old t-shirt for a familiar smell and a can of his favorite cuisine - Sea Captain's Choice, a select blend of minced fish meats marinated in some sort of gravy. Over his stay, Mr. C was rehydrated and syringe fed. His temperature was around 105 degrees for the first 24 or so hours before it dropped down to a normal 102. We found him to be alert and tense because of the surroundings, but otherwise improving. On the second night, doc reported that Copernicus was getting anxious in his cage and had been growling at the "blood transfusion cat". It sounded like he was back to normal and although the vet suggested a feeding tube along with an extra night or two in the hospital ($$$$$) I decided to get him back after the third day. He still wouldn't eat, so I had to syringe feed him, myself - which was an unpleasent experience for all involved.

After the trauma of the hospital, Copernicus spent a great deal of the following days curled up in the tightest possible ball sleeping on the old couch.

He's fully recuperated by now and is gaining his weight back. The shaven patches for the iv are still there, and the ulcers have all but healed. His habits and activities are slowly going back to the old routine.