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boneration posted:We said goodbye to Miss Malarkey today. Seven days of kitty ICU was enough to learn that they could not diagnose her, and a horrific regimen of medications just to keep her alive was not something I was willing to put her through. Thankfully the condition was not painful and we were able to discontinue treatment for a day so she could come home and have a couple nights and a day of love and snuggles. My heart is shattered and my other little girl is wondering where her sister is. I'm sorry you and your kitty had to go through that, but at least you got to say goodbye. You did the right thing instead of making them suffer longer under a terrible quality of life.
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Dec 29, 2023 00:24
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Hyperlynx posted:Meanwhile, I've just stumbled on an article about making one's IoT devices secure and private, and severing their connection to the cloud (link). Sure enough, clever folks have already figured out how to do this for the LR4: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/litterrobot/ The Home Assistant Litter-Robot integration does not run locally, it still requires the cloud. The only thing that happens locally in HA with the LR4 is auto-discovery that it exists if it's on the same network. Adding the integration into HA will bring up a dialog box asking you to enter your LR account info. The information that HA gets about your LR is the information that it's getting pushed from the cloud, which is the information that you LR4 is sending to the cloud. It's basically getting all the same information that the phone app gets. Severing the Litter Robot's cloud connection means that neither the phone app, nor the Home Assistant integration will be able to get new updates about any of the LR sensors. The Home Assistant Litter-Robot integration is what I'm using now for automations that use the LR4. Also hit up Litter Robot's support if you continue to have issues with your wifi. Sometimes the wifi card in the LR4 just sucks, but LR's support has been very good.
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Dec 29, 2023 00:42
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boneration posted:We said goodbye to Miss Malarkey today. Seven days of kitty ICU was enough to learn that they could not diagnose her, and a horrific regimen of medications just to keep her alive was not something I was willing to put her through. Thankfully the condition was not painful and we were able to discontinue treatment for a day so she could come home and have a couple nights and a day of love and snuggles. My heart is shattered and my other little girl is wondering where her sister is. God I'm so sorry. She had such a great life with you.
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Dec 29, 2023 00:44
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boneration posted:We said goodbye to Miss Malarkey today. Seven days of kitty ICU was enough to learn that they could not diagnose her, and a horrific regimen of medications just to keep her alive was not something I was willing to put her through. Thankfully the condition was not painful and we were able to discontinue treatment for a day so she could come home and have a couple nights and a day of love and snuggles. My heart is shattered and my other little girl is wondering where her sister is. I'm so sorry to hear that. I would be devastated if any of my cats now were to pass, the same way I was devastated when my cats when I was a child passed. You did everything you could for her, and sometimes the hardest decision is the one that is the most humane. At least she got to spend her final days surrounded by love without pain, and you got to properly say goodbye.
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Dec 29, 2023 00:47
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can you make it send text messages every time they poop?
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Dec 29, 2023 02:36
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boneration posted:We said goodbye to Miss Malarkey today. Seven days of kitty ICU was enough to learn that they could not diagnose her, and a horrific regimen of medications just to keep her alive was not something I was willing to put her through. Thankfully the condition was not painful and we were able to discontinue treatment for a day so she could come home and have a couple nights and a day of love and snuggles. My heart is shattered and my other little girl is wondering where her sister is. I'm sorry  HamburgerTownUSA posted:The Home Assistant Litter-Robot integration does not run locally, it still requires the cloud. The only thing that happens locally in HA with the LR4 is auto-discovery that it exists if it's on the same network. Adding the integration into HA will bring up a dialog box asking you to enter your LR account info. Aw, dang. I was hoping the HA was properly spoofing the Whisker server. Well, no point trying to run before I can crawl, at any rate. I'll get onto their support. Call Your Grandma posted:can you make it send text messages every time they poop?
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Dec 29, 2023 12:44
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Deteriorata posted:It's instinctive behavior to pursue moving shapes. One of ours does it, too. No he doesn't paw at anything in particular and he does it even when the TV is off.
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Dec 29, 2023 14:58
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Call Your Grandma posted:can you make it send text messages every time they poop? Yes, tweets too. You can make your roomba vacuum around the litterbox on a schedule too, but the roomba scares my guys so I keep it decoupled from the litter robot
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Dec 29, 2023 15:22
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bltzn posted:No he doesn't paw at anything in particular and he does it even when the TV is off. I wonder if it's making some weird noise or something that he can hear but you guys can't? Some sort of electronics noise or something even when it's off?
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Dec 29, 2023 15:31
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bltzn posted:No he doesn't paw at anything in particular and he does it even when the TV is off. My cat does that when he wants me to play with him. He does it to the TV and sometimes the side of the litterbox. Sometimes cats also paw at stuff to mark their territory (they have scent glands in their paws).
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Dec 29, 2023 19:53
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Well, James has hyperthyroidism. Just like my childhood cat, I'm giving him his tablets in cream cheese. First tablet: he licked all the cream cheese off, sniffed the tablet... ...and then ate it. I'll take that as a good sign! This morning he had the whole thing with every sign of enjoyment. Good kitty. Upside of getting ill, huh?
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Dec 29, 2023 22:51
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Test results came back, and Nana the kitten is free of FIV and feline leukemia, so I did some introductions to my household and it's going pretty well. He's in love with my other cats, they tolerate him much more having heard him crying from the bathroom and smelled some of his scents. No flare ups or agression besides a little hissing when he stayed way too close when the other cats went to eat food. Any thoughts on whether I should keep him locked up at night or when I leave the house? I'm leaning towards putting him back in the bathroom for a while with both situations and also giving him some wet food in private, just because he's so tiny and I could see him accidentally getting hurt or being bullied out of eating. Here's some pictures of the first day of Nana actually living with Spooky and Ripley   
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Dec 30, 2023 02:34
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We got automatic feeders for our cats because we wanted to take a long weekend, and due to shipping delays they only arrived a day before we left. I was worried they wouldn't figure them out so I set up our security camera on their food bowls so we could watch them at meal times. Had zero problems, as soon as kibble dropped into the metal bowl both of them were gobbling away. The only problem is now my wife is spending the evening talking to our cats through the camera and they are not sure what to make of the metal box that sounds like her.
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Dec 30, 2023 03:14
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an iksar marauder posted:Yes, tweets too. You can make your roomba vacuum around the litterbox on a schedule too, but the roomba scares my guys so I keep it decoupled from the litter robot I just rigged up a thing to send the Roomba out after the LR4 cycles using a cheap matter-over-thread door sensor. It sits inside the plastic cover by the USB port and has a hall effect sensor to detect a magnet that helpfully clings to one of the screws of the drum, so when that spins by it sends a notification. The delay is set to fifteen minutes so it shouldn't bug them hopefully 
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Dec 30, 2023 05:53
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boneration posted:We said goodbye to Miss Malarkey today. Bummer, but it sounds like the right move. If after the first round of test results everybody is still standing around  ing then it's time to start making hard decisions on what's best for the cat. Coming up on a 1 year anniversary of losing mine in similar circumstances and I wish I'd called it earlier.Hyperlynx posted:you can indeed get push notification I've heard of PUSH notifications before but this is TOO MUCH 
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Dec 30, 2023 06:25
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Chronojam posted:I just rigged up a thing to send the Roomba out after the LR4 cycles using a cheap matter-over-thread door sensor. It sits inside the plastic cover by the USB port and has a hall effect sensor to detect a magnet that helpfully clings to one of the screws of the drum, so when that spins by it sends a notification. This sounds like a great idea right up until one of them accidentally leaves some crap just outside the box.
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Dec 30, 2023 08:39
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Organza Quiz posted:This sounds like a great idea right up until one of them accidentally leaves some crap just outside the box. After some crime scene investigation recently we worked out that Ferdie had turned the roomba on, then needed his normal pre-dawn poo but didn't feel safe so pooped on the floor The roomba then joyfully spread poop all around the room. We had to get a new one At least this one has a child lock 
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Dec 30, 2023 11:17
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An update on Jet’s health! Wednesday night, I noticed that despite a sunny and friendly disposition and mood, he was breathing with more effort than usual. I counted his respiratory rate and it was higher than 30 breaths per minute. Out of caution I brought him to the e-vet, and unfortunately he had fluid in his chest and lungs. No fluid around his heart at all, which tracks with his clean echocardiogram a couple weeks ago, but he still needed emergency treatment. After a night in the oxygen tank and an IV full of Salix, the fluid went away, his breathing went back to normal, and he went home with a new and stronger daily dose of diuretics. No symptoms since then. The whole time he was awake and alert and vocal and demanding pets and attention from the techs, just like the adorable little poo poo he is.  Jet was fine. I was not. I had trouble keeping it together after getting news of the fluid returning, and had a breakdown in the parking lot afterwards. I barely managed to sleep at all until I got the call in the morning about his improved health. That was like a solid 12+ hours of sheer awful. I genuinely thought I was going to lose him that very night, and having just come back from almost a week out of town and being so close to the new year…the world didn’t feel fair at all.  He’s back to normal now. Normal for a cat in their mid-teens, anyway - he’s noticeably slowed down recently and certainly loves his naps. I’ve been spoiling him ever since he got back home (except the meds, sorry buddy but you need those), so I hope he’s enjoying the pampering. But things have changed, and this event marks the progression of his condition. The cardiologist says that heart disease snowballs and gets tougher to fight over time, with fluid buildup events happening more and more frequently and requiring higher and higher doses of medication. Every event comes sooner than the last and eventually the meds will stop working. Jet will see the inside of the e-vet again. Given that, 2024 is likely his last year. So I’m gonna make it a good one.  I need a plan for his senescence. I’m gonna do monthly quality-of-life questionnaires, and learn to catch signs of fluid buildup. I also gotta figure out the watershed point for euthanasia, and ensure that I’m present and ready to take care of him at home when it’s time to say goodbye. I don’t know when that will be - no one ever could know - but I’ll drat well be ready to make it a soft landing. Anyway thanks for listening. Getting clinical about this gives me a break from the emotional tempest and makes it easier to handle. Don’t let this get you down or anything either cause right now my dude is living large on the couch cushions and fuckin go off king you earned it   Cats. Both the worst and the best. Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Dec 30, 2023 |
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Dec 30, 2023 17:05
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Good boy, Jet 
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Dec 30, 2023 19:15
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I'm so glad Jet is doing okay. I just lost a senior cat last month who started slowing down but then lasted another 3 years with a very good quality of life, so he might have some life yet. It's smart to keep doing that review, just because it's easy to normalize things, especially since cats can be so blaise about everything. Like in my last weekend with that cat she tried to play it cool when she became too unsteady to walk.
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Dec 30, 2023 20:30
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My old lady cat is roughly 20 and dealing with some separation anxiety. This isn't something I've ever had to manage before so if y'all have tips that would be cool. The real reason I came here today though was to ask what the current best enzymatic cleaner is for both carpets and fabric that goes in the washer. I know that Nature's Miracle is not supposed to be as good anymore.
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Dec 30, 2023 22:21
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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:My old lady cat is roughly 20 and dealing with some separation anxiety. This isn't something I've ever had to manage before so if y'all have tips that would be cool. Simple Solution was what my vet recommended to me when I brought up the issue with Nature's Miracle. I know you can get it at PetCo, at least. And as aside, I would like to thank everyone here for there suggestions of treats/double sided tape to help curb scratching on furniture. Ryne is very good about using her cardboard scrathers now, but I do now have the question of at what point to I swap out one of these scrathers for a new one? Is there a time frame, condition of the scrather, etc.?
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Dec 30, 2023 23:57
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Melomane Mallet posted:Simple Solution was what my vet recommended to me when I brought up the issue with Nature's Miracle. I know you can get it at PetCo, at least. You can swap them any time you want. Usually they're good until the cats get bored of them, even if they've been destroyed into unusual shapes. Personally I'd recommend getting one of those jute scratchers instead as it's less dust and dirt for you and Ryne. I picked up this and my cats love it since they prefer scratching on all fours, rather than a standing scratch. 
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Dec 31, 2023 04:32
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My cat has, in about the past week, gotten really into playing fetch?? Like, REALLY into it, to the point where if you go downstairs for any reason, she will follow you and scream repeatedly until you give in and throw one of those elastic hair ties around for her to slide across the floor after it and then to trot back to you with it in her mouth so you can throw it again. Not sure if this is going to be the rest of my life or if it's just a phase, but good god, she is obsessed. eta: here is periwinkle playing fetch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wMJK2jb6o Obnoxipus fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Jan 4, 2024 |
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Jan 4, 2024 00:48
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my brother's cat gummyworm figured out fetch one day and just graduated to larger objects. hth
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Jan 4, 2024 00:56
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Obnoxipus posted:My cat has, in about the past week, gotten really into playing fetch?? Like, REALLY into it, to the point where if you go downstairs for any reason, she will follow you and scream repeatedly until you give in and throw one of those elastic hair ties around for her to slide across the floor after it and then to trot back to you with it in her mouth so you can throw it again. Not sure if this is going to be the rest of my life or if it's just a phase, but good god, she is obsessed. Enjoy it while it lasts! I had a cat who became obsessed with fetch for about a year and then forgot about it. He was also an incredibly dumb but sweet boy who didn't always grasp the mechanics behind fetch and would sometimes drop the toy before trotting back and waiting patiently for you to throw the toy still located on the other side of the room.
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Jan 4, 2024 00:57
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One of my cats will sometimes be into fetch. I'll throw a foil ball from the downstairs to the upstairs landing, and she'll bound up there, grab, trot back downstairs and drop it at my feet to go again. And then the next 5 times I do it she'll just look at me like I'm crazy. And one of our other current cats consistently would fetch with one specific toy for about a month when he was a young cat. Never been able to get him to do it again. Cats be cats, dunno
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Jan 4, 2024 01:00
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Coolness Averted posted:Enjoy it while it lasts! I had a cat who became obsessed with fetch for about a year and then forgot about it. He was also an incredibly dumb but sweet boy who didn't always grasp the mechanics behind fetch and would sometimes drop the toy before trotting back and waiting patiently for you to throw the toy still located on the other side of the room. It would be nice for her to wait patiently, tonight I had trouble finding a hair tie and had to look around for one. The entire time, she screamed at me to play with her already. I'm trying!!
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Jan 4, 2024 01:00
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In my head they get tired of you throwing away the present they brought you. Stupid humans rejecting feline gifts.
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Jan 4, 2024 01:03
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My calico hasn't grasped fetch, but will "kill" toys and bring them to me. Sometimes just one, sometimes she'll go back and forth for a while bringing me a bunch (getting a treat every time of course). She even has a specific meow for "I caught something and I'm comin' with it" which was very helpful in my old apartment when the mice would come in during the winter.
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Jan 4, 2024 01:16
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Quill loves fetch with plastic springs.
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Jan 4, 2024 01:54
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KariOhki posted:My calico hasn't grasped fetch, but will "kill" toys and bring them to me. Sometimes just one, sometimes she'll go back and forth for a while bringing me a bunch (getting a treat every time of course). She even has a specific meow for "I caught something and I'm comin' with it" which was very helpful in my old apartment when the mice would come in during the winter. Yeah I have a big girl that caterwauls and brings a toy up for me to examine when I'm upstairs in my office. She then lays down purring for pets and approval of her hunting skills. I'm lucky I don't have any pests for her to catch. She only does it during the day if I'm working from home, no other times or places in the house.
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Jan 4, 2024 02:09
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One of mine fully understands fetch and will tell you off if you’re a little slower throwing one of her favored toys than she wants you to be. The other is more hesitant to initiate, but loves playing along.
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Jan 4, 2024 03:00
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Cats really are the best pet. Animals are great in general, but these weird little goofs have the best energy. They're also destructive assholes that keep you from having nice things.
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Jan 4, 2024 03:03
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weird question. one of my cats gets like. very into covering his pee, always steps in it and gets out of the box with a chunk of pee stuck to his foot, which he has at least one occasion wiped off into my bed. neither of this love this. it is only pee and it is only him. i use an extra light litter because i am small and i can't carry most conventional litters, and besides they they're usually quite dusty. any suggestions for litter brands or some other modification?
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Jan 4, 2024 04:05
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cash crab posted:weird question. one of my cats gets like. very into covering his pee, always steps in it and gets out of the box with a chunk of pee stuck to his foot, which he has at least one occasion wiped off into my bed. neither of this love this. it is only pee and it is only him. i use an extra light litter because i am small and i can't carry most conventional litters, and besides they they're usually quite dusty. any suggestions for litter brands or some other modification? You might try some clumping litter. It will tend to cohere more and maybe not stick to him as much.
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Jan 4, 2024 04:30
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It reads to me like they are using clumping litter. That's why it's sticking to kitty's paw. You could look into pine pellets. It's more work but there's wayyyy less dust and nothing to stick to feet. It also smells better (assuming you like pine). Cats can have issues adjusting to it though, they might be too used to clay litter and require an extensive easing process.
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Jan 4, 2024 04:39
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Or walnut litter!
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Jan 4, 2024 04:49
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Tofu litter has been incredible to me, all the benefits none of the downsides.
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Jan 4, 2024 05:12
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i think walnut is the only thing available in my area but i would still have to transition. last i changed my litter one of them peed on my bed (again, no one was happy that day). maybe i could put out a mini pan in the bathroom and see if they like it instead of trying to change their main litter out?
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Jan 4, 2024 06:18
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