Is this cactus dead or just merely dormant? It's the middle of summer, school is out, and this poor thing hasn't seen anyone for about 2 months now.. I took pity on the cactus and slowly put about 3-4 cups of water on it, which slurped right into the soil. None of the water has dripped out of the drain holes in the bottom. Does this thing have the slightest hope of recovery? ...did I possibly overwater it and now "drown" any chance of recovery?
As long as it flowers, there is hope. I have rescued cacti that have looked even worse than yours, but it takes time. Keep it out of direct sunlight and wait, it will often take weeks before they show signs of life again. Do not water too much, it won't help, just keep the soil moist.
I think that those "flowers" are those things that they GLUE on at the nursery (ie. not real flowers). It's a dead plant, plain and simple.
Oh, I temporarily forgot about those fake flowers that are so widespread. I should have remembered, a plant in that condition is highly unlikely to flower. It is difficult to judge with 100% certainty from the photograph, but I agree, the chance to find living tissue in that plant is small.
