Apparently, the cats thought it was too plush to kill. The neighbor spotted the still skeezicked gopher hanging out on the patio a few hours later.
While unusual, it's not the first time we've seen gophers above ground. You just don't expect them in your living room.
Gophers are annoying in the garden, taking entire tomato plants down into their holes (yes, really, I watched it happen last year) and killing your favorite young fruit trees. However, they serve and essential role in the food web, tilling the soil, providing flood control as well as serving as food for coyote, fox, bobcat, hawk and snake.
