Help me get my fur boy into remission.

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phatcatTO

Member Since 2023
Hello everyone I am new to the forum I am from Toronto,Canada,and would like some advice on how to get my fur boy Flashy as healthy as possible and into remission.
In early November he was diagnosed with megacolon and early stages of renal kidney disease.At the time the vet checked his blood, urine,and a ultrasound was made.In mid February over the weekend he stopped eating and drinking,and was hypoglycemic,I almost lost my boy that day.took him to a different vet,where they diagnosed him with diabetes and kept him at the clinic for a week until he got better.
Since then he has gotten alot better,out of 100 %I would give him 65-70% There are still a few issues I am concerned about,and I am not sure how to go about dealing with them,and hope some of you can help me out.
I will summarize some of his info here.

Male,13 years,tabby.
Diagnosed with RKD, megacolon,Diabetes.
He is given Lantus insulin 4 units with a syringe twice a day every 12 hours.
I am using a Accucheck blood glucose monitor.
Also give sub q fluids Lactated ringers.Usually 1to 2hs before insulin shot.
He free feeds.

My question to my fellow forum members and the issues he is having are:

I have done BG curves on 4 separate occasions and his BG levels do not drop that much, average around 6 to 10 mmol ,for example I checked his BG levels every 3 hrs. On April 2 his resultsare26.8,24.9,25.7,25.6.23.5,21.6 Is he insulin resistant? He was anemic for a while,so the vet did not want to prescribe or do anything else since he seems to be slowly improving on his own,so she would like to give it more time and see how things go.

I am wanting to change his diet.I am currently feeding him Orijen Guardian 8 dry kibble,and fancy feast wet cat food.
Want to change it to a high protein lower carb diet.I want to feed him Go! Turkey and chicken formula mixed with Dr Elyse 0 carb formula to make the food around 8 or 9 carbs,is this a good idea?Since he has RKD everything I read says that a high protein diet is not good for the kidneys.Any other suggestions?I cannot feed him a pure wet food diet since hes a picky eater,and will just lick the broth,stew liquid and leave the chunks of meat.

Since he has Been to the vet alot these past 5 month they have shaved him in several spot and his hair has not grown back.Is it because of his diabetes? Anything I can do or give him to help with some of his hair growing back? I have asked the vet and she told me it's because of his age,and the diseases that he has,him fur might not grow at all or very slowly.

Last issue I would like to get resolved is his
Platigrade stance, anything I can do,or give for this issue?

I am optimistic,but also realize I might never get him to the way he was before.I just want to do my very best and do everything I can,with the time that I have left with my fur child.

Thank you for reading my post.
 
Hi from Toronto as well! I am just starting my journey as we were diagnosed last week but wanted to pop in to say hi.

I ordered Vitacost Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg for Remy which I believe is the same as Zobaline for cats to help with his wobbly hind legs and a slight plantigrade stance. Many members in the forum have recommended that this will help Remy in the long run as well as him getting his BG under control.

We are starting Lantus tomorrow (1 unit) after his diet change since the diagnosis.

I hope all the knowledgeable members of this forum can help you with your other questions :)
 
For the neuropathy
You can order this Methyl B-12 . I have used it for years and a lot of other members use this Methyl B-12 , just open up the capsule mix it in with the wet food add some water, it's tasteless.

The Zobaline is too expensive

https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6
14.49 for 100 capsules
Give one a day

International shipping link
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...wQFnoECAgQAg&usg=AOvVaw13cH4zebWwFH_eN1IiVusFeN1IiVusF

Once you get Flashy's BG under control this will help with it also.
Tyler had diabetic neuropathy and it took about 1-2 months and he was back to jumping, running etc.
I did see an improvement every 2 weeks
You can start it now if you want to
 
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.
This link will also explain how to set up our spreadsheet.
If you have trouble setting ,just ask we have a member that will be happy to set it up for you
I don't know if you can get these in Canada

As for wet food for cat that are diabetic and who have kidney disease you can try these
You can check these out from Weruva BFF like

One of our members put it together
BFF play chicken Checkmate
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 129%
BFF play chicken & turkey topsy turvy
Protein 32%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 129%
BFF play chicken cherish
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 135%
BFF chicken & turkey tiptoe
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 136%
BFF chicken duck & turkey take a chance
Protein 32%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 149%
BFF play chicken & lamb laugh out loud
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 154%
BFF play chicken & duck destiny
Protein 32%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 165%
BFF play chicken & beef best buds
Protein 33%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 171%
With weruva foods
You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts.
https://weruva.com




When you go to the weruva site and click on one of the pics of the food , click on Detailed Nutrition information that is under guaranteed analysis to the left
YOU WANT CARBS UNDER 10% AND PHOSPHORUS IDEALLY LOW 200's OR LESS
In Canada you can get Weruva at Pet Valu stores
 
Last edited:
I second the Vitacost Zobaline but you’ll only start to see results once his diabetes is regulated. It helped Minnie recovered from severe neuropathy.

I agree that 4 units is a lot so I’m wondering if that’s because you’re still feeding him high carb dry food. I hear Dr Elseys is a good low carb dry option, but if you can transition him over to wet food, that would be best. A low carb diet gives your cat the best chance to go into remission. You do need to be testing him everyday in order to switch him over to low carb because diet change alone can drop his bg by as much as 100 points. It looks like you’re using a pet meter. Would you be able to test him every day before the insulin shot and then maybe 2 more times? If you could then put all the test results into the spreadsheet Diane mentioned, the members here can guide you with dosing. A dry high carb diet is not good for any cat, especially a diabetic cat. That’s like feeding your diabetic child a diet of biscuits, ice cream and sweets.

With a diabetic cat you need

  • A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
  • A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
  • We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.

We are happy to help you with setting up the spreadsheet, sorting out what food to buy, how to transition safely to a low carb diet, how to learn to home test and much more.

I’m not sure how many of these are available in Canada but have a look at this
FOOD CHART for foods that are 10% or less in carbs.

You will also need some higher carb foods for that hypo box..information in the help us help you link.

This is an excellent site for diabetic cats…it has been around for more than 25 years and has very experienced people to help you.

Keep asking lots of questions.
 
Hi from Toronto as well! I am just starting my journey as we were diagnosed last week but wanted to pop in to say hi.

I ordered Vitacost Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg for Remy which I believe is the same as Zobaline for cats to help with his wobbly hind legs and a slight plantigrade stance. Many members in the forum have recommended that this will help Remy in the long run as well as him getting his BG under control.

We are starting Lantus tomorrow (1 unit) after his diet change since the diagnosis.

I hope all the knowledgeable members of this forum can help you with your other questions :)

Thanks for the reply,

Sorry for my ignorance but why vitacost B12,and not something like Webber's Natural from Shoppers?
 
For the neuropathy
You can order this Methyl B-12 . I have used it for years and a lot of other members use this Methyl B-12 , just open up the capsule mix it in with the wet food add some water, it's tasteless.

The Zobaline is too expensive

https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6
14.49 for 100 capsules
Give one a day

International shipping link
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...wQFnoECAgQAg&usg=AOvVaw13cH4zebWwFH_eN1IiVusFeN1IiVusF

Once you get Flashy's BG under control this will help with it also.
Tyler had diabetic neuropathy and it took about 1-2 months and he was back to jumping, running etc.
I did see an improvement every 2 weeks
You can start it now if you want to

Thanks for your help,

Why Methil b12 from vitacost and not just some b12 from Costco?

Glad your cat got better, hopefully I can get my cat there or as close as possible to him running around and being more active.
 
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.
This link will also explain how to set up our spreadsheet.
If you have trouble setting ,just ask we have a member that will be happy to set it up for you
I don't know if you can get these in Canada

As for wet food for cat that are diabetic and who have kidney disease you can try these
You can check these out from Weruva BFF like

One of our members put it together
BFF play chicken Checkmate
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 129%
BFF play chicken & turkey topsy turvy
Protein 32%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 129%
BFF play chicken cherish
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 135%
BFF chicken & turkey tiptoe
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 136%
BFF chicken duck & turkey take a chance
Protein 32%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 149%
BFF play chicken & lamb laugh out loud
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 154%
BFF play chicken & duck destiny
Protein 32%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 165%
BFF play chicken & beef best buds
Protein 33%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 171%
With weruva foods
You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts.
https://weruva.com




When you go to the weruva site and click on one of the pics of the food , click on Detailed Nutrition information that is under guaranteed analysis to the left
YOU WANT CARBS UNDER 10% AND PHOSPHORUS IDEALLY LOW 200's OR LESS
In Canada you can get Weruva at Pet Valu stores

Thanks for the links.I will try to get these done ,as soon as I have some down time.

As for the food I am familiar with weruva,my boy Flashy loves the pouches,that are creamy and more liquid ,but does not really touch any pates,or flaked /chunky wet cat foods.

This is the reason I want to still give him dry cat food.the Go! Formula is 17 carbs so I will mix it with Dr Elyse dry cat food to bring the carbs down,reason is Dr Elyse's cat food in Canada is really expensive,double the price than in the U.S.Ideally I would just feed him Dr.Elyse.
 
Welcome to FDMB!

In addition to the information that's been provided, I want to add a couple of details. Cats with kidney issues (we use the abbreviation CKD for chronic renal disease) need water in their diet. Diabetes is hard on the kidneys. In addition to your giving your cat lactated Ringers, a canned food diet is much higher in moisture than feeding him dry food. Depending on which variety of Fancy Feast you're using, it may not be low carb. The primary variety of Fancy Feast that's low in carbs is the pate style ("Classics"). There may be a few others but I don't know that specifics off of the top of my head. This is a link to foods that are available in Canada. You may find Tanya's website that is a wonderful resource on feline kidney disease helpful, as well. The food you're suggesting is still way too high in carbs. Do you think your cat would eat a raw food diet?

Protein content of food may be an issue. However, phosphorus is a bigger issue. You want foods that are low as possible in phosphorus. Depending on what stage your cat's kidney problems are at, you may want to talk to your vet about a phosphorus binder.

Folks are likely recommending Vitacost because it's a reliable brand here in the US. They are a reputable supplier of supplements. It is also a brand that doesn't contain anything that could be potentially harmful to a cat. Also, B12 is not the same as methylcobalamine. B12 is likely to be composed primarily of cyanocobalamin which is a manufactured form, not the methyl version and it's the methyl version that helps with neuropathy.
 
Thanks for the links.I will try to get these done ,as soon as I have some down time.

As for the food I am familiar with weruva,my boy Flashy loves the pouches,that are creamy and more liquid ,but does not really touch any pates,or flaked /chunky wet cat foods.

This is the reason I want to still give him dry cat food.the Go! Formula is 17 carbs so I will mix it with Dr Elyse dry cat food to bring the carbs down,reason is Dr Elyse's cat food in Canada is really expensive,double the price than in the U.S.Ideally I would just feed him Dr.Elyse.
17% carbs is too high even when mixed with Dr. Elseys because carbs is not cumulative like calories. So no matter how much if it you’re giving, you’re always giving 17%. Have you considered making raw food at home? A lot of members here do that. Or you can try different types of wet until you find one he likes. I get the struggle. Bobo has CKD and diabetes now and he won’t touch any wet food. I tried the low phosphorus Weruva WX and no luck. I finally found a raw brand he’s need liking so far so fingers crossed he won’t get sick of it :nailbiting:
 
Was he started on 4 units of lantus or did your get gradually increase increase it? that seems like a high dose to start on
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/
Please read all the yellow stickys about lantus
Do you have the U-100 syringes with half unit markings?
We adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time, these syringes make it easier to do that

When he came back home he started at 3ui,then a month later 3.5ui,I'm at 4ui recommended by the doctor,but I have not seen his BG go down by alot.Syringes are from the vet and go up or down by .5 .Lowest I have seen his BG was at was 16.6 ,but I felt it was random,maybe he did not eat before.His BG tends to stay in the mid to low 20s.z
 
I second the Vitacost Zobaline but you’ll only start to see results once his diabetes is regulated. It helped Minnie recovered from severe neuropathy.

I agree that 4 units is a lot so I’m wondering if that’s because you’re still feeding him high carb dry food. I hear Dr Elseys is a good low carb dry option, but if you can transition him over to wet food, that would be best. A low carb diet gives your cat the best chance to go into remission. You do need to be testing him everyday in order to switch him over to low carb because diet change alone can drop his bg by as much as 100 points. It looks like you’re using a pet meter. Would you be able to test him every day before the insulin shot and then maybe 2 more times? If you could then put all the test results into the spreadsheet Diane mentioned, the members here can guide you with dosing. A dry high carb diet is not good for any cat, especially a diabetic cat. That’s like feeding your diabetic child a diet of biscuits, ice cream and sweets.

With a diabetic cat you need

  • A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
  • A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
  • We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.

We are happy to help you with setting up the spreadsheet, sorting out what food to buy, how to transition safely to a low carb diet, how to learn to home test and much more.

I’m not sure how many of these are available in Canada but have a look at this
FOOD CHART for foods that are 10% or less in carbs.

You will also need some higher carb foods for that hypo box..information in the help us help you link.

This is an excellent site for diabetic cats…it has been around for more than 25 years and has very experienced people to help you.

Keep asking lots of questions.

Thanks for your help and info.I am trying to feed him mostly wet cat food ,but he is a very picky eater and just likes the broth/liquid for the wet cat foods and avoids the pieces of meat,flakes or chunks.
That is why I want to feed him the Dr.Elyse formula,but it's very expensive in Canada,so if I can mix it with another food it would be more ideal.

He is on Lantus insulin,and I am using a Accucheck BG monitor,and I do check his BG before every shot I give him and check an Hour or 2 after.
 
Dr Elyse's cat food in Canada is really expensive,
There is also Wyson Epigen 90. Not sure of the price but it too is expensive.

Since he has RKD everything I read says that a high protein diet is not good for the kidneys.
It depends on the stage of kidney disease. Tanya's site is an encyclopedia. I'm sure you've come across it but I'll post the link anyway.
www.felinercf.org

Feline diabetes and kidney disease is a balancing act.
If you cannot find a low carb / low phos food, you can add a tasteless, powdered phosphorus binder. (The gels from the vet contain sugar.) I used Phos-Bind.
https://thrivingpets.com/products/thrivingpets-aluminum-hydroxide-powder-usp-50g-jar
Larger jars are also available on amazon.

This is a Canada-specific food list.
There are a lot of options on the other food list. While the low carb Fancy Feasts (pate, roasted. flaked, chunky, natural, and a few of the medleys) are too high in phosphorus, you can add binder.

Some of the foods listed are available in Canada. Print it out and take it with you to the pet food store. Been there, done that, and educated a Blue Buffalo sales rep who was trying to be helpful.
just likes the broth/liquid for the wet cat foods and avoids the pieces of meat,flakes or chunks.
Would whizzing it in a blender and adding a bit more water to it help?
 
Last edited:
Welcome to FDMB!

In addition to the information that's been provided, I want to add a couple of details. Cats with kidney issues (we use the abbreviation CKD for chronic renal disease) need water in their diet. Diabetes is hard on the kidneys. In addition to your giving your cat lactated Ringers, a canned food diet is much higher in moisture than feeding him dry food. Depending on which variety of Fancy Feast you're using, it may not be low carb. The primary variety of Fancy Feast that's low in carbs is the pate style ("Classics"). There may be a few others but I don't know that specifics off of the top of my head. This is a link to foods that are available in Canada. You may find Tanya's website that is a wonderful resource on feline kidney disease helpful, as well. The food you're suggesting is still way too high in carbs. Do you think your cat would eat a raw food diet?

Protein content of food may be an issue. However, phosphorus is a bigger issue. You want foods that are low as possible in phosphorus. Depending on what stage your cat's kidney problems are at, you may want to talk to your vet about a phosphorus binder.

Folks are likely recommending Vitacost because it's a reliable brand here in the US. They are a reputable supplier of supplements. It is also a brand that doesn't contain anything that could be potentially harmful to a cat. Also, B12 is not the same as methylcobalamine. B12 is likely to be composed primarily of cyanocobalamin which is a manufactured form, not the methyl version and it's the methyl version that helps with neuropathy.
Thank you for the advice.I will ask the vet about phosphorus binder.I will also look into a raw food diet,he is a picky eater,but he does like raw pork tenderloin for some reason.
I am glad that there is something that will help with his nerve damage,will it help with his fur growing back? Any supplement I can give him for that?
 
Thanks for your help,

Why Methil b12 from vitacost and not just some b12 from Costco?

Glad your cat got better, hopefully I can get my cat there or as close as possible to him running around and being more active.

Fellow Canadian here... I buy Jamieson brand B12 from Shoppers (methylcobalamin; 5000mcg; NO sugars, additives, flavours, etc) - I crush one tablet and sprinkle in Bubba's food. Good luck!!
https://www.jamiesonvitamins.com/pr...obalamin-timed-release?variant=43218098946240
 
Thanks for the links.I will try to get these done ,as soon as I have some down time.

As for the food I am familiar with weruva,my boy Flashy loves the pouches,that are creamy and more liquid ,but does not really touch any pates,or flaked /chunky wet cat foods.

This is the reason I want to still give him dry cat food.the Go! Formula is 17 carbs so I will mix it with Dr Elyse dry cat food to bring the carbs down,reason is Dr Elyse's cat food in Canada is really expensive,double the price than in the U.S.Ideally I would just feed him Dr.Elyse.
Hi & welcome. I just wanted to say if you continue to give him the 17% dry food, he will need more insulin. Therfore you would be paying more for more insulin. If you buy the dr elslys you won't be paying as much for insulin because it's a low carb dry food & he won't need as much insulin. So either way your going to be paying approximately the same. Going to the lower carb dry food will also help to get him regulated & possibly in remission.
 
Last edited:
Hi & welcome. I just wanted to say if you continue to give him the 17% dry food, he will need more insulin. Therfore you would be paying more for more insulin. If you buy the dr elslys you won't be paying as much for insulin because it's a low carb dry food & he won't need as much insulin. So either way your going to be paying approximately the same. Going to the lower carb dry food will also help to get him regulated & possibly in remission.
Thanks for your welcome and your reply.You are right,even though I can get Lantus insulin cheaper at Costco here in Canada.My goal is to get him to remission,and I want to do everything possible to try to get him there.
 
Thanks for the info,I will look into It.How long has your cat been on b12?what changes have you noticed? Btw do you give him one whole tablet all at once?

He's been on b12/methyl since his Dx last September. He seems to be more steady on his back legs? If anything, it's probably mitigated neuropathy from getting worse... it's hard to tell b/c I am still working on regulating Bubba's sugars and he also has osteoarthritis in his hips. Once his sugars are properly regulated/consistently in the greens/blues, I imagine I would see a larger improvement! Yes, one tablet crushed and sprinkled in his food every morning for breakfast.
 
There is also Wyson Epigen 90. Not sure of the price but it too is expensive.


It depends on the stage of kidney disease. Tanya's site is an encyclopedia. I'm sure you've come across it but I'll post the link anyway.
www.felinercf.org

Feline diabetes and kidney disease is a balancing act.
If you cannot find a low carb / low phos food, you can add a tasteless, powdered phosphorus binder. (The gels from the vet contain sugar.) I used Phos-Bind.
https://thrivingpets.com/products/thrivingpets-aluminum-hydroxide-powder-usp-50g-jar
Larger jars are also available on amazon.


This is a Canada-specific food list.
There are a lot of options on the other food list. While the low carb Fancy Feasts (pate, roasted. flaked, chunky, natural, and a few of the medleys) are too high in phosphorus, you can add binder.

Some of the foods listed are available in Canada. Print it out and take it with you to the pet food store. Been there, done that, and educated a Blue Buffalo sales rep who was trying to be helpful.

Would whizzing it in a blender and adding a bit more water to it help?
Appreciate all the info you have given me,and adding Wysong pet food to my radar,it definitely is expensive but more affordable than Dr Elsey. Unfortunately it is out of stock in Canada,but I will keep it in mind.

That phosphorus binder you order from the U.S,how much it cost you in total?

Good idea I will try blending one of his cat foods,see if he will completely eat it.
 
That phosphorus binder you order from the U.S,how much it cost you in total?
https://www.vetrxdirect.com/product/view/phos-bind-aluminum-hydroxide-for-cats-and-dogs-otc
This is the one I used for Tyler's brother when he had kidney disease
You will need to ask your vet how much to start with ,it's tasteless,plus you have to add it to every meal you feed them
As you can see it comes in 2 different sizes

Here is another place to order it from
https://www.amazon.com/Rx-Vitamins-...ocphy=9003521&hvtargid=pla-355360562305&psc=1

Looks like the price from Amazon is cheaper for the 200g bottle then the other site I gave you above

It did bring his levels down , I had to take him for blood work every now and then to see if the dose had to be adjusted

By the way always add some water to the wet food that he will set even if a cat didn't need a binder.

Perry who had kidney disease would only eat kibble ,you can actually add the binder to the kibble ,put the kibble in a zip lock baggie ,add the binder the shake it up really really good ,then give it to him. I was given this advice from the kidney support group I joined
 
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That phosphorus binder you order from the U.S,how much it cost you in total?
I have no clue. It was about a decade ago. I bought a 200 gram container just because I didn't want to have to reorder and passed the container on to another member. It does not expire. You only use a small amount. Something like 1/8 tsp.
More about phos binders here.
https://felinecrf.org/phosphorus_binders.htm
 
If you opt for a raw diet, you need to also use a pre-mix. This is a powder that contains all of the necessary supplements to make a raw diet nutritionally complete. You can't just feed raw food -- it doesn't have all of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements that a cat needs to stay healthy. TCFeline is available in Canada and is a reliable brand.
 
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