Meet our Ambassadors

Truffles

Hi I’m Truffles the Kitty and I am an Ambassador for Vision and the Chair Cat of the Truffles the Kitty Organization. I was born in July of 2017. I was just a little kitten of 12 weeks when my Meowmy took me in and gave me my forever home.

I had no idea how much my Meowmy and I would do together, but I did know that Meowmy was Pawesome! She took me to work with her every day. She is a pediatric Master Optician and owns her own optical shop. Meowmy and I worked together learning little tricks like sit, up, jump, high-five, shake, and wave! We are quite the team.

Every day I watched kids come into the office. I would do little tricks for them and they would smile and laugh and I would get treats. One day Meowmy tried something different. She made a special little pair of glasses for me. I was only 6 months old. She fit them gently around my ears and between my whiskers. I barely noticed when she put them on me. Then I got a treat! She showed me how to take them off all by myself. And that’s when we started something new. I not only did tricks for kids, but I now had a very important job of helping kids not to be so afraid and also encouraging them to wear their glasses purrroudly, like I do!

I was doing this for a while when suddenly, I became really famous! Kids all over the world found my videos on the internet and I was encouraging kids EVERYWHERE. Kids sent me messages and letters in the mail and I started to send them little gifts back. I had TV stations come to my office and visit me. I was in magazines, like People Magazine, Time for Kids, National Geographic and a bunch of others. I was even in a school newspaper in Australia. This was just the beginning.

So what’s a girl to do with all this fame? Meowmy and I decided that the best thing to do was to start a non-profit organization so we could continue our mission of encouraging kids and also help spread awareness of the eye conditions that kids often have. So that’s how I became the Chair Cat of the Truffles the Kitty Organization. I’m purrroud of the work we do here and even more so excited that every day I help kids along their vision journeys.

You can watch all of my videos teaching kids: I have videos that show kids how to care for their glasses, how to wear an eye patch, how to have an eye patch removed after surgery. I even show them how to read an eye chart.

Check out my social media links here:

Mastered Tricks:

Sit, Up, Jump, High-Five, Wave, Paw Bumps, Stay, Wearing Glasses and Eye Patches. I can recognize symbols on the eye chart, jump through a hoop and pick out my own glasses for the day.

Favorite Things:

I like to be by Meowmy and am very excited about new boxes to jump into. I love getting new glasses and watching Meowmy make them for me! I like playing on my ipad and watching birds out the window. My favorite toy is a little red mouse and that light that shows up every now and then. I WILL catch it one of these days.

Awards:

• Eye Buy Direct’s Eyecare of the Year award 2021
• Prevent Blindness, Bonny Strickland Champion for Vision award 2023

Gumdrop

Hi I’m Gumdrop and the newest ambassador for vision at the Truffles the Kitty Organization (TKO). I was born in November 2023. I was only 8 weeks old when I started to go to work with Meowmy and Truffles. I learned how to give high-fives by the time I was 12 weeks old! I was way too small for glasses, but as I got bigger, I wanted to see if I could encourage kids too, so I started my appurrenticeship at the office. I learned so much over the year and graduated in November of 2024. While Truffles encourages kids and helps them feel brave about their new glasses and vision treatments, my specialty is reminding kids that glasses are also fun! Glasses never stop me from running and playing and jumping. I’m told I have A LOT of energy! And my glasses need to keep up with me. So while vision is serious and important, your journey can be and should be filled with fun and excitement. That’s why I am here!

You can see some of my videos including demonstrating how to get eye drops in your eyes, wearing glasses and even wearing an eye patch.

Mastered Tricks:

Sit, Up, Jump, High-Five, Wave, Paw Bumps, Head Bumps, Wearing Glasses and Eye Patches.

Favorite Things:

I LOVE jumping up very high. I can get on top of all the displays at the office. I also like to garnish my food dish with a leaf of Basil every morning. I’m fascinated with the toilet (what happens to all that water anyway?) I like to play with bubbles and chase after toys and fetch them. I love giving kids high-fives and showing them how handsome I am in my glasses. My favorite toys are my teddy bear and a little crocheted red heart that was a gift.

Pfeffernüss (FEH-fur-noose) aka Pfeffer

Hi I’m Pfeffernüss and I am in training. I was born in July of 2024. I was rescued by Loving Care Cat Rescue just outside of Philadelphia. I was very tiny when they found me and almost didn’t make it twice, but I had a destiny. My foster mom took really good care of me and when Meowmy took me home I was in perfect health.

I was born with an eye condition called strabismus (crossed eyes), and nystagmus (quick jerky movements of my eyes.) My Meowmy couldn’t resist me because I was, well, “simply adorable!” My vision isn’t quite as good as Truffles or Gumdrop, but that’s ok. I’m working on my own vision journey, just like most of the kids that I meet. In fact, a lot of kids have strabismus and/or nystagmus.

I’m working on my appurrenticeship to help kids feel confident even if their eyes are crossed or even if they seem to wonder. I also want to break the stigma that kids who have strabismus or curious eyes are not smart. Because even though my vision isn’t like others, I am VERY smart! I don’t let it stop me at all.

I sometimes have difficulty finding treats when they are tossed. I can find them easily if they are still moving, but as soon as they stop…I can’t seem to see them. So that just means I work harder! I’ve learned to go faster and catch them before they stop! Meowmy says that’s smart!

I’m working on my doctorate so I can be officially Dr. Pfeffer!

Mastered Tricks:

Sit, Up, Jump, High-Five, Wave, Paw Bumps, Jump through hoops and Wearing Glasses.

Favorite Things:

I love finding treats and knocking them over until they come out of the box or chewing through the bag if necessary. I purr really LOUD! I LOVE pets and being held like a baby! I especially love it when kids come into the office and pet me. I also like to put my glasses on and show them how smart I am. I’m still a kitten so I love to play with EVERYTHING! My favorite toy is Gumdrop!