Emotional reunion for Binx the family cat after Surfside condo collapse

‘If one of our animals were to make it, it would be him, so we’re not surprisedp either’

In a miraculous survival, a pet cat who lived in the partially collapsed building in Florida was found roaming around the streets and has finally been reunited with his family with help from animal rescue volunteers.

Binx, who lived on the ninth floor Champlain Towers South, was reunited with his family on Friday, after he was spotted roaming around the rubble of the building where rescue operations are still undergoing.

The cat was brought to the shelter by animal rescue volunteer Miranda Peralez seven days before his owners were found, who felt the cat was too chatty and friendly to be a street cat.

“He was too nice to be a stray cat,” she was quoted by 7News Miami. “It hit me that he could be a survivor cat and, yeah, so I looked through articles online and through Twitter hashtags trying to find a picture to see if it was actually him.”

She also told the channel that Binx kept running back to the rubble, where his home was, and it was difficult for them to hold him.

Binx’s family was also looking for him and had posted posters of the feline on Twitter. Days later, Ms Peralez found his family and called them to get Binx.

The emotional reunion, covered widely by the local media, showed the cat’s owner Tayler Gonzalez hugging Binx. Her family members were in the condo when a part of the building collapsed.

Two members of the family, Angela Gonzalez, Taylor’s mother and her 16-year-old sister Deven, survived the building collapse and remain at Jackson Memorial Hospital with injuries related to the fall, the channel reported. They had a FaceTime reunion with Binx.

Edgar Gonzalez, the father, is still among the missing as of Saturday morning, according to American media reports.

“Honestly, I’m kind of shocked, but we already had a feeling that, if one of our animals were to make it, it would be him, so we’re not surprised, either,” Tayler was quoted by 7News as saying. “I’m happy. It’s just been a very long journey in the past two weeks.”

Ms Peralez, who rescued and helped reunite Binx is herself a cat parent and coincidentally, her cat is also black like Binx, the channel quoted her as saying. Expressing her thrill and emotion at the reunion, she told 7 News: “It’s really emotional, just knowing — for the past two days I’ve been crying — just knowing that he was safe. There’s not any words that can describe it.”

However, after a heartwarming return to home, something a little scary might be waiting for Binx.

“You need a bath. That’s what he needs,” Tayler said holding Binx at the 7News interview.

The reunion was also announced by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava , who told reporters she and everyone involved with the cat in the last few days are “happy to have played a role in returning Binx with his family.”

“I’m glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the lives of a hurting family today and provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy,” Ms Levine Cava told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

The building collapse left 79 people dead, and 61 people still remain uncounted for.

“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,” Ms Levine Cava added.