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[Ivy Norsk]

Apple is one of the Limited Edition Fruit eyes from the 2012 Valentine's Collection. (The others are blueberry, huckleberry, lemon, plum, wild cherry, wild odyssey,... and divine was also in that collection.)
So yes, it's retired. There was a point (in 2013) when apple appeared on large numbers of foxie salt and peppers on the grid. People got a bit tired of it. It's overdue for a comeback. I hope your wife enjoys her kitten and the apple.