Banksy has struck again, this time painting a big black cat stretching on a bare billboard in northeast London. However, it was removed only a few hours after being spotted on Saturday morning by a contractor who said he feared it would be stolen.

The contractor, who gave his name as Marc to PA Media, said the billboard was earmarked to be torn down on August 12 so he was removing it in case someone “rips it down and leaves it unsafe.”

“We’ll store that bit [the artwork] in our yard to see if anyone collects it but if not it’ll go in a skip. I’ve been told to keep it careful in case he wants it,” he reportedly said.

The cat is the anonymous British street artist’s sixth animal mural to spring up in London over the last few days. It follows a mountain goat, a pair of elephants, three monkeys, a wolf, and two pelicans which have been sprayed in various locations across the capital.

The wolf, painted on a white satellite dish in Peckham, south London, was pilfered  by a hooded trio in broad daylight on Thursday.

Banksy has posted each animal painting on his Instagram, confirming that they are genuine. Their significance has sparked a flurry of speculation on social media.

The artist’s agent told the BBC that there was “no comment on the theme” of the series, adding that there “may or may not” be more murals to follow.  

The Observer, however, says it has learned from a Banksy spokesperson that a seventh painting “may shortly materialize in a surprising location … London residents should then keep their eyes peeled.”

The Guardian reports that it “understands” that “the artist’s vision is simple: the latest street art has been designed to cheer up the public during a period when the new headlines have been bleak, and light has often been harder to spot than shade.”

The paper adds that “recent theorising about the deeper significance of each new image has been way too involved, Banksy’s support organisation, Pest Control Office, has indicated.”