Hamster ball fixes network problem

One Saturday morning a year or two ago my wife complained that she couldn't get 'onto' her emails.  She said this had happened several times in the previous few days but only when she was using the computer in the living room.  This computer was connected to our modem router by an Ethernet cable and inspection showed that the cable had been nibbled where it ran along the floor.  My wife admitted that she had been allowing our hamster to run free in the living room while I was at work.  I went out and bought a replacement cable. My wife went out and bought a hamster ball.  The connection problems did not occur again.