Tippy ...

Tippy (who won't be leashed for walkies nohow)

Xantippe is sick. Yesternight she couldn't stop sneezing. And whereas most days she runs upstairs to say 'Good morning' with chirrups and purrs, when she hears I'm no longer abed, today she just sat dispiritedly at the bottom of the staircase. She's inappetent too, passing by her saucerful of milk, turning away from her cat treats. Poor Tippy. She's never been sick before.

UPDATE (Aug. 15): Yesterday Tip-tip was still immobile and inappetent. I was worried about dehydration and made her drink from a dropper. She seemed glad of it too — so why wouldn't she drink by herself? Then today I found an ugly bump on her underbelly. Was it a parasite? Off we went to Hillcrest Animal Hospital. Tippy had no fever, they said, and the bump was simply an abscessed wound. They cleaned it up, prescribed antibiotics, and said, '$200 please.' Now we're home and she's sleeping. Let's hope that's all it was. We'll see.

UPDATE (Aug. 16): That's all it was. (Leastwise she's eating and drinking normally now.)