Something like this has bitten me too but in the dumbest way possible. I spent a whole afternoon running a camera cable nice and neat behind some baseboards, felt like a real pro, then found out the family had a rabbit that treated those baseboards like a chew toy. Three days later the cable was in pieces and I was back on my hands and knees for free, so honestly the joke was on me. Now I ask about pets before I even open my toolbox, and not just dogs and cats, because birds and rabbits and who knows what else can mess with stuff just as fast. A cat chewing a keypad wire sounds about right though, those little guys go after anything thin and stringy looking. Lesson learned the hard way on my end.