A bunch of Hocus Pocus? Cat found alive in rubble weeks after Surfside collapse!
Surfside, Florida – One black cat was very lucky indeed.
There are four little paws that just may be a walking miracle – and an homage to an immortal film feline to boot!
Crews continue to sift through the devastating damage in Surfside, Florida after the partial collapse of a condo building on June 24.
As the most recent numbers confirm 86 victims have died with 43 still unaccounted for, search and rescue efforts shifted to a recovery phase on Thursday.
"While there seems to be no chance of finding life in the rubble, a miracle is still possible," Mayor Charles Burkett said.
That miracle soon arrived in the form of Binx the cat.
On Thursday night, the male black tabby, who lived on the ninth floor of Champlain Towers, was incredibly found alive two weeks after the collapse.
FEMA uncovered the cat, which was taken by volunteers to a nearby animal shelter, The Kitty Campus.
"He nibbled on wet kitten food and was happy to receive hugs and pets," the organization said.
After notices circulated online to find his owners, Tayler Gonzales arrived at the shelter on Friday and identified the cat as missing from her family's demolished apartment.
"Today was one of the most amazing days," wrote The Kitty Campus' co-founder Gina Nicole Vlasek in a Facebook post. "One of the survivors came to see the cat and to determine if it was her families cat, and it was!"
"All we needed was a ray of hope in this tragedy," she added.
Could Binx be a bit of Hocus Pocus?
Social media users were quick to draw comparisons between Binx and the Disney film Hocus Pocus (1993), where character Thackery Binx is transformed into a magical black cat who lives for three centuries.
"So Thackery Binx is real. Hocus Pocus was real," tweeted Rebecca Rainey. "Why Thackery Binx, as I live and breathe," tweeted another user Anne Thériault on Saturday.
It is unclear where the Gonzales family got the cat's namesake.
The Gonzalez family lived in unit 904 along with Binx and their dog Daisy. Angela and her 16-year-old daughter, Deven Gonzalez, were seriously injured in the collapse and some of the first victims to be pulled from the rubble, according to KIRO 7.
As of Friday, Angela was awake and talking and Deven was able to walk with a walker after recovering from surgery, according to the family's GoFundMe. Second daughter Tayler, who was reunited with Binx at the shelter, was not home at the time.
Her father, Edgar Gonzalez, is still missing, and the family is still looking for answers.
"You give the universe a path to present its miracles if you let it," said Vlasek. "Let this serve as a reminder to never, ever, give up hope!"
The cat's recovery has given people a reason to stay positive and to perhaps believe in magic.
Having survived through a tragedy, Surfside's Binx certainly seems to have nine lives. Could Thackery Binx be real, or is it all just a bunch of hocus pocus?
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/Twitter/mirandaxann & Screenshot/Facebook/kittycampusmiamibeach