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Sounds like that's what they did with the wet toilet paper. OP, you mentioned this to the vet when you talked to them over the phone?
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Apr 23, 2023 17:47
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Jack B Nimble posted:Sounds like that's what they did with the wet toilet paper. OP, you mentioned this to the vet when you talked to them over the phone? At that point I didn't know they hadn't pooped and my vet is closed today. I just tried stimulating one again and most I got was some pee. UPDATE: I took a nap and when I came out there were little dookies everywhere. Then one of them sat in the box right in front of me and laid another one out for good measure. It could be that only one pooped all that poop but I'm choosing to not overthink it and just hold out til the vet on Tuesday. NomChompsky fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Apr 24, 2023 |
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Apr 23, 2023 18:45
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Well wishes to everyone’s cats.  Today marks the first time one of my feral-born cats actually climbed onto and settled on my lap (lol this lasted about 30 seconds before her sister became a distraction). They’ve been willing to walk over us for about three weeks, and willing to curl up next to me on the couch since a week ago. There’s still lots to work on but we’ve only had them for three months, I’m proud of them adjusting so quickly to life as house cats. Got a couple updates on questions I’ve asked: VelociBacon posted:If you're that sensitive to litter dust you should avoid it completely and switch to the extruded walnut poo poo. We wanted to try this but my partner picked up the clumping walnut instead of the non-clumping. Clumping walnut review: does nothing for smell, is dark brown so it masks whether you’re looking at clumped pee or watery poop, but is actually very good for mess. Experiment with the non-clumping pellet version to come. mcmagic posted:Have you tried to mix her wet food with water? I feel like she'll figure it out or she'll just eat like a weirdo which isn't a big deal as long as she's eating. Attempted, she licks the top and gets all the moisture out then gives up when the remaining food is “dry.” We tried changing the dish - shallow metal flat bottom, deep ceramic with high sides, a flat human plate. We tried warming up the food in the microwave (on a low low setting). For about two days both cats were excited about the flat plate + warm food combo, then they went right back to “nah.”  They eat their dry food pretty enthusiastically and they both use the kitty fountain, but I’d like to have wet food as a regular part of their diet. Licky girl still has trouble with the dry food, dropping it on the floor and stuff, and it takes her forever to eat. Her favourite way to eat anything is directly out of our hands, which is cute but very messy because her licking chases it around everywhere. Guess we’ll just keep trying different options.
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Apr 24, 2023 22:24
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Good job on the cat rescue, and the poo. We got three 2 week old cats about five years ago (snuggling one right now) and it took them about two or three days before they took a poo. Malnourished cats have nothing in them!
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Apr 25, 2023 00:55
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Let me tell you how my latest cat adoption went. Day 1 - I picked up the two cats from the rescue. They hid in the cat carriers the entire day. Neither one would budge. Day 2 - I left them overnight in my home office/PC area. They moved out of the carriers into the cat condo. Anytime I was in the room they'd hide in the condo. I could see them but they were terrified of me so I let them be. Day 3 - Same as before. I could not tell if they were eating or drinking but I kept food and water out. However when I'd peek in at one of them and very, very, very carefully reach in and pet her she purred. After a week they were comfortable exploring my entire house. After a month they sleep under my bed while I sleep on top of it. Now they stay in the office room curled up on the chair next to me or laying down on the comfy pad next to the window. They're still getting used to me but things are slowly improving! A little better day by day! Patience is sooooo hard when you want to socialize with them but they'll come around.
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Apr 25, 2023 02:20
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kaom posted:Well wishes to everyone’s cats. I've said this a little while ago in this thread, but have you tried a pate or stew? I had good results with the former for getting a cat to eat all of her wet food. Like, if you're giving her chicken chunks, try a chicken pate. But as long as they are eating the dry, there's always "cat gonna cat".
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Apr 25, 2023 04:40
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Yeah our licky senior wouldn't eat the stew kind, she'd just enjoy the gravy and then leave the rest But she loved the pate kind, and she could eat the whole thing by licking and little nibbles which helped I think
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Apr 25, 2023 10:36
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Litter chat: Our elderly cat kept getting clumping clay litter stuck in her paws, so our vet recommended tofu-based litter. It's not as clumpy as clay, but it works well enough for it (you just have to let the mushy pellets dry before removal or else you're going to have a bad time). It's also very expensive in comparison. However, there is no dust. Nada. None. Zip. Zero dust. We have been getting the unscented Frisco brand from Chewy but there are plenty of brands around for it.
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Apr 25, 2023 14:28
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Just wanted to drop a couple of pictures of these two little dopes. Quick update; they definitely be poopin' and man I forgot how awful kitten poo poo smells. The gray tux is Pewter, and the gray/brown/white tabby is Sage.  
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Apr 25, 2023 16:04
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I came to this thread about five and a half years ago with questions about my very first cat, my old man Pontus, ten(?) years old with a baggage of trauma straight from the shelter. I just wanted to thank you guys for the good advice you gave me back then, and as a little memorial to him I wanted to post here now that he's due to cross threshold tomorrow in the afternoon. He's been going downhill rapidly the past week, and it's time for him to go. I never knew I could love a cat this much.
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Apr 25, 2023 19:22
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If it’s okay to ask, what did that decline look like, and how did you know it was time? Mine turned 14 today, and it’s been on my mind a lot lately.
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Apr 25, 2023 19:25
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Of course! I noticed him getting progressively thinner over the past few months (sagging back, etc), but nothing serious. A few days ago he had a sinus flareup which he's had before, but his weight has dropped to an alarming 2.5kg, and he's currently simply Existing for the lack of a better word. On antibiotics since yesterday and it improved him, but he hasn't started eating again. Heavy breathing, problems walking, simply just lying there in a fugue state between sleep and wakefulness. With his laundry list of already existing health problems, his decreased mobility the past few months, and the knowledge that he's a walking bag of bones right now, I decided it might be time. Too early? Perhaps. I'd rather that than be too late.
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Apr 25, 2023 19:28
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parara posted:Of course! I noticed him getting progressively thinner over the past few months (sagging back, etc), but nothing serious. A few days ago he had a sinus flareup which he's had before, but his weight has dropped to an alarming 2.5kg, and he's currently simply Existing for the lack of a better word. On antibiotics since yesterday and it improved him, but he hasn't started eating again. Heavy breathing, problems walking, simply just lying there in a fugue state between sleep and wakefulness. With his laundry list of already existing health problems, his decreased mobility the past few months, and the knowledge that he's a walking bag of bones right now, I decided it might be time. Once they stop eating and it's not due to a problem that can be treated, that's it. Cats go into liver failure very soon. My Abby stopped eating after vomiting her breakfast up on a Saturday, and on Monday morning she had barely eaten, and when I took her to the vet and we decided it was time and they shaved her leg for the needle, we saw her skin had already begun to turn yellow. It can only get worse and they deserve to go with peace and dignity.
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Apr 26, 2023 04:09
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Thank you so much for this. We’re due in a couple of hours and I’m sitting here plagued by doubts. Your last line resonated with me deeply.
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Apr 26, 2023 09:24
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parara posted:Thank you so much for this. We’re due in a couple of hours and I’m sitting here plagued by doubts. Your last line resonated with me deeply. Same thing happened with us and socks. She'd been on medicine and kidney food for awhile, but one day I just noticed she wasn't eating. We took her to the vet the same day and got her rehydrated, she seemed to be doing ok.. but later that night she was just gone basically. She couldn't use the restroom, wouldn't eat, just lay on top of us and we knew it was time It was still such a hard decision. I wanted to do literally any other option, but there really wasn't any. Taking her in that day was the last thing we could do for her, and being with her to the very end was the last bit of love we could give her. You're definitely making the right call, but I know exactly what you mean Weird Pumpkin fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Apr 26, 2023 |
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Apr 26, 2023 12:36
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parara posted:Thank you so much for this. We’re due in a couple of hours and I’m sitting here plagued by doubts. Your last line resonated with me deeply. Something my vet told me before Abby was put down, back when treatments were still working and I had my doubts was "I have never had a person tell me they let them go too early, but I have had many people tell me they waited too long." I am so sorry for what you're going through.
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Apr 26, 2023 16:15
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Thank you both so much for your stories and kind words. It went peacefully and quickly, and while my whole body hurts right now I know it was the right decision. I will miss him very much.
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Apr 26, 2023 17:14
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Thank you for sharing your story. It helps a lot to know where my cat and I are in this process. It’s not at that point yet, but I know better now what to look for and what “too late” might look like. It hurts, yeah.
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Apr 26, 2023 18:13
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It is going to be hard, but you did what you could and you gave them a great life. If and when you do get the strength, I can't help but recommend the pet memoriam thread enough. When my kitty passed it helped a lot to be able to tell the story of her life, and not just of her death, and to read other's stories and know that I was not alone in carrying that tremendous burden. Be well friend.
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Apr 26, 2023 18:45
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Do cats have a bucket list? If they gotta go eventually, then I can at least make the rest of their days as kickass as possible. I have no idea what to do though besides taking them out on a harness and all the toys ever. I can’t do churu even tho Jet loves it cuz that gives him the runs  I just don’t wanna have any regrets.
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Apr 26, 2023 19:22
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Pollyanna posted:Do cats have a bucket list? Cats live very in the moment. A "best day ever" for a cat is their normal everyday routine with naps and pets from their favorite person. Just do that. When we brought our cat to be euthanized, the vet had on hand whipped cream, cheese, churu, etc. all the things cats shouldn't eat but absolutely love to make their last moments in a scary place much happier. I beg everyone, watch your cats' moods like a hawk, and if they show a major change in personality, energy level, and food/water intake, don't wait on getting them to the vet. If you ignore it, you'll never forgive yourself, as you'll keep questioning what might have happened if you had them in sooner. Rotten Red Rod fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Apr 26, 2023 |
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Apr 26, 2023 19:31
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My sister had a cat that was visibly fading but hanging on, was a dedicated house cat and would spend hours lounging on their porch and if you ever tried to remove him from the house he'd struggle to get back to his territory. Then one day he just disappeared and they never saw him again, I figure old cat was all "okay I'm done here let's go see what's in that forest finally." I don't know if that counts as a bucket list but they seem to know when time is up. Any time you take a pet in you're accepting you're gonna have to watch it die. It sucks but I try to look at it as they got the best possible life and they're just making room for another stray to have a chance at that.
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Apr 26, 2023 19:43
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Rotten Red Rod posted:I beg everyone, watch your cats' moods like a hawk, and if they show a major change in personality, energy level, and food/water intake, don't wait on getting them to the vet. If you ignore it, you'll never forgive yourself, as you'll keep questioning what might have happened if you had them in sooner. Yeah, my dude is getting marched right up to the vet to explain why he’s so drat hungry and why he barfs/gets the runs so much. It clearly wasn’t just the heart disease. I’m not leaving without a good answer.
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Apr 26, 2023 19:47
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I was convinced one of our cats had hung on until we got back from a long trip just to see us one more time. We had a friend housesit too, who was very appreciative of this needy cat and gave her plenty of affection. She was so happy to see us return, but then within two weeks she just nosedived into a just full system failure. She was elderly, no doubt, but just the way she had reacted to our return (extra loving, more vocal). She was definitely more spry than normal, less standoffish with one of her least favorite cats in the house. It was almost like she was saying thanks for picking me off the streets all those years ago (my wife's old place, the neighbors moved and left her to fend for herself). And then she just let go.
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Apr 26, 2023 20:08
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Reading these stories has been very comforting, thanks all for sharing. The grief has such a raw, sharp edge to it that I feel physically ill. It helps to be reminded that I’m not the only one and won’t be the last one. Cats are wonderful.
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Apr 26, 2023 20:14
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Seeing all this is just making me appreciate the fact that my two remaining girls (who are both gonna be 21 this summer), despite all their (varying) health issues, are still hanging in there. 
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Apr 27, 2023 04:09
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I read this thread and hugged my cat a dozen times, she's still young but you never know.
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Apr 27, 2023 06:43
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I have two kittens that are in the 5 week old zone. Tonight I had them out playing on the couch and while snooping around one of the pillows one of them grabbed something tiny in tis mouth, I couldn't tell from where I was if it was a tiny bit of string or a little dust bunny. Whatever it was, it was only a tiny mouthful because they chewed it and seemingly swallowed it. By the time I got my hands on them it was gone. I'm hopeful that maybe she dropped it but I can't call my vet because it's the middle of the night. Anyone ever see this happen? I know string can be deadly if they eat it but it was such a small amount I am not sure how worried I ought to be.
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Apr 28, 2023 04:27
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It's not great for them to do that, but as long as it wasn't a long contiguous string it will probably pass right through them. Or youngest cat loves to eat carpet fuzz and other items when she gets a chance and has not seemed to ever be harmed by it at least.
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Apr 28, 2023 04:37
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future ghost posted:It's not great for them to do that, but as long as it wasn't a long contiguous string it will probably pass right through them. Yeah I called the Er vet and they basically were like "Watch her for vomiting, lethargy, loss of appetite." It couldn't have been much.
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Apr 28, 2023 04:40
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NomChompsky posted:I have two kittens that are in the 5 week old zone. Tonight I had them out playing on the couch and while snooping around one of the pillows one of them grabbed something tiny in tis mouth, I couldn't tell from where I was if it was a tiny bit of string or a little dust bunny. Whatever it was, it was only a tiny mouthful because they chewed it and seemingly swallowed it. By the time I got my hands on them it was gone. p.good post/username combo
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Apr 28, 2023 05:50
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Fair. I might be making a bigger deal out of it than needs to be. I adopted these kittens because I didn't want to see my friend give them to a shelter, but my cat before them died in March and was sick since November. So I am so used to caring for a dying cat, worrying over every missed meal and little thing that anything with these guys causes me to freak the gently caress out.
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Apr 28, 2023 05:56
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Sydin posted:Goodbye Mel. Behind in the thread but condolences She looks very similar to one of my Went through something similar with my longhair tuxedo in December/January. She quit eating and drinking and grooming herself and when I took her to the vet her liver numbers were orders of magnitude hosed up. I don't have the paper in front of me but normal numbers were like 75 and she was at 1200. Nobody knew what was wrong so I did take her to a pet hospital, but all I ended up achieving was dropping 10k for her to spend the last week of her life in a strange place she hated, only to have her crawl into a corner and die less than 24 hours after getting her back home. Obviously if I had a time machine I'd do things differently, so letting Mel go out on relatively peaceful terms was absolutely a valid choice. e: NomChompsky posted:Just wanted to drop a couple of pictures of these two little dopes. Quick update; they definitely be poopin' and man I forgot how awful kitten poo poo smells. Does this change with age? God I hope so. I don't notice too much with the girls but the boy kitten can completely blow up a litter box. Like I can smell it multiple rooms over 
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Apr 28, 2023 06:29
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pidan posted:I read this thread and hugged my cat a dozen times, she's still young but you never know.  Sorry for your loss, Parara, and feel free to post any pics/memoriam for Pontus that feels right. Sometimes it’s nice to celebrate how goofy and wonderful an animal was in it’s health after having to experience it’s decline. I like Rotten Red Rod’s point about cats living very in the moment. NomChompsky posted:Yeah I called the Er vet and they basically were like "Watch her for vomiting, lethargy, loss of appetite." My dumb idiot 1 y/o eats toys (specifically a squirmy wormy) and the vet told me to monitor if he stops eating and then take him to an emergency vet. It’s been months and he never stopped eating.
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Apr 28, 2023 06:41
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My 2 kittens eat dust and bits of fabric all the time and it has never bothered them. I don’t know where they keep finding the stuff but maybe the roomba taught them where the tastiest dust is
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Apr 28, 2023 08:21
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Takes No Damage posted:Behind in the thread but condolences I appreciate your kind words and, even more so, your thoughts on dealing with sudden loss. I'm so sorry for your loss and offer my sincere condolences: I was also in a situation where my cat declined rapidly out of nowhere, and I was pretty much told by the hospital that I could spend a bunch of money to maybe find out what's happening but Mel would probably die anyway and spend all that additional time in pain, or I could let her go. Maybe it sounds morbid but in choosing to let her go I was only thinking of Mel and not the money: from her perspective she was scooped up into her carrier and sent to a scary place away from me and the thought of her having to stay there for days or even weeks miserable and afraid tore at me like nothing else. I guess I was lucky to be informed she was fading and make it in time to be there holding and petting her during euthanasia, but if I could do it all again I would have chosen to let her pass at home in a comfortable environment rather than some scary unknown place.
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Apr 28, 2023 09:13
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Is it normal for cats to knead less as they age? When my cat was younger she used to knead on me all the time and now very rarely.
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May 1, 2023 08:53
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How young? How old? Kittens definitely knead more than adult cats, and might even suckle on blankets. And elderly cats might have joint pain or mobility issues that make kneading less appealing. I haven't heard anything about 8 year old cats kneading less than 3 year old cats, maybe your cat is just going through something.
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May 1, 2023 12:04
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pencilhands posted:Is it normal for cats to knead less as they age? When my cat was younger she used to knead on me all the time and now very rarely. I don't know about generally but in my experience with my previous cat who lived to be 16, yeah. As a kitten she'd do it all the time, as an adult cat now and then but once she hit the senior years substantially less. By that point she was more just wanting cuddles.
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May 1, 2023 14:15
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Ours will only knead on certain blankets.. really soft and fluffy felt ones. I'm assuming it reminds them of kneading for milk as a kitten. One used to knead on my arm but I'm kinda glad she stopped because she would shred my skin.
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May 1, 2023 14:40
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