Cat Living in Collapsed Miami Condo Found Safe After Two Weeks

“I’m glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the life of a hurting family today”

Two weeks after the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Miami, a black cat named Binx that lived on the ninth floor was found safe on Friday and reunited with his family. It’s a rescue Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava calls a “miracle.”

“I’m glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the life of a hurting family today and provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy,” Levine Cava said Friday during a news conference.

According to the Miami Herald, a volunteer feeding cats in the area found Binx “in the vicinity” of the site. They then brought the black cat to Kitty Campus, an organization that cares for community cats in Miami Beach, “where it was positively identified” as belonging to one of the families in the building.

“There are a lot of cats in the area, and we have been sending out our Animal Services Department with live traps to find cats, and we also have supported those who are volunteering to feed the cats,” Levine Cava says.

Kitty Campus co-founder Gina Nicole Vlasek posted on Facebook about the “small miracle,” writing that Friday was “one of the most amazing days.”

“A black cat resembling Binx from #904 was brought to our facility last night by FEMA. Authorities from all over have been in and out of our Miami Beach office since last night. The Cat was found near the rubble!” Vlaset wrote.

“All we needed was a ray of hope in this tragedy,” Vlaset continued. “Today was one of the most amazing days … one of the survivors came to see the cat and to determine if it was her families cat and IT WAS! We are so grateful to be able to help in any small way. These families lost so much but our south Florida communities team work was able to give them this.

“Remember to Use your energy for good things and good things only and you give the universe a path to present its miracles if you let it. Remember to never, ever, give up hope!!”

At the Friday briefing, the mayor said the death toll in the condo collapse reached 79 people, 53 of whom have been identified. So far, 61 people are potentially unaccounted for.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of our community to the team who played a role in reuniting [Binx] with his family,” Levine Cava tweeted.