Teacher's Pet: 'needy' cat stays close to owner, communications professor

<p>Assistant director of the Ball State Speech Team Ashley Coker owns a poofy, grey cat named&nbsp;Scheidler. The cats&nbsp;two favorite activities are a tie between eating yogurt and destroying the couch, depending on his mood. <em>Ashley Coker // Photo Provided&nbsp;</em></p>

Assistant director of the Ball State Speech Team Ashley Coker owns a poofy, grey cat named Scheidler. The cats two favorite activities are a tie between eating yogurt and destroying the couch, depending on his mood. Ashley Coker // Photo Provided 

Editor's note: Teacher's Pet is a Ball State Daily News series featuring university faculty/staff and their pets. If you have any suggestions as to who we should feature next, send an email to features@bsudailynews.com.

Scheidler, a 'needy' and sometimes mischievous cat, likes to get up to trouble when he's home alone. Whether it's moving his water bowl, or tearing up the couch, Scheidler always eagerly awaits his human's return. 

Scheidler's human is Ashley Coker, a communications professor and the assistant director of the Ball State speech team. Coker sometimes has to go out of town for speech tournaments, leaving Sheidler free reign at home.

“My guess is that he finds a spot, then he finds another spot,” Coker said. “And he continues this pattern until I return.”

Sometimes he’ll wait at the window, sometimes under the couch and sometimes he’ll get bored and move his bowl around the apartment.

“We disagree on where the water bowl should go,” Coker said.

Scheidler is a poofy, gray cat. Much of his hair finds its way onto everything that his human owns. But she loves him.

He’s also a needy, attentive cat. He always wants to be close to Coker just because he loves her so much.

“He’s not exactly a lap cat, but he almost always has one paw just resting on some part of my body,” she said, “just so I know he’s there.”

Spencer Coile, a graduate student who works with Coker and the speech team, also attests to Scheidler's needy personality.

“He’s lovable,” he said, “and very pushy. He wants you to always pet him.”

Coker got Scheidler at a pet store in 2004 and has loved having him ever since. One of her favorite things about him is his loving wake up routine.

“He wakes me up in the morning by inserting his claws into my nostrils and pulling up,” she said.

Along with exploring noses, Scheidler’s two favorite activities are a tie between eating yogurt and destroying the couch, depending on his mood.

Scheidler’s quirky personality has provided Coker many memories and laughs, but one of the funniest things about him has just recently come about.

“One time, a student journalist implied my cat was newsworthy," Coker said. "I told him about this, and he didn’t really see the humor. Because he’s a cat.”

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