ghost shifting

[wackyjacky1]

My bike is doing the same thing. It likes to do it when I'm climbing a hill -- goodbye, momentum!

Took it to the LBS yesterday, where they adjusted the cables, and the front and rear derailleurs. On my ride to work this morning, it did the same thing, with the added bonus on my not being able to shift into the smallest chainring. Erk!

Today he checked out the cassette and said it seems fine. He went ahead and replaced the chain, even though it wasn't showing any wear. (Heck, I've only put about 200 miles on the bike.) On the ride home from the LBS, I had one incident where it feels like the chain is skipping a tooth on one of the cogs. (What I mean is, it "feels" like it's shifting on its own, but is staying on the same cog.) Annoying! Guess I'm taking it back to the shop tomorrow...

A question: My cats have chewed off the little caps on the cable ends. Because of this, on the rear derailleur, one wire in the cable has unwound itself from the others. (Note how the little one, Erin, is helpfully pointing out the problem for the photo.) If it's a cable issue, is it possible that this could be the source of the problem?