The black cat stencils, which first began appearing around the city late last year, are the work of renowned but anonymous Launceston public artist Lord Scabar. Residents may remember Lord Scabar as the artist behind the tiny intricate door sculptures that appeared mysteriously around the city in 2018.

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Since then, Lord Scabar has been hard at work reworking the city with a series of whimsical and fairy-tale-esque installations. According to Scabar, all the works are part of a singular artistic effort.

"Some of the public also know me for the window installations as well as the birdhouses - and all of these come from the same inspirational source - an alternate Launceston if you like called 'The Old City'," they said.

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The cats, silhouetted in various poses, are continuing to be found all over the city and surrounding suburbs, including on the East Tamar Highway bridge, St John Street and in Yorktown Square. Apparently, between 30 and 40 of the cats have been placed around - and it's been a team effort.

"Some of the people helping me with installations get spotted on a regular basis. I think they rather enjoy that aspect," Scabar said.

Scabar went on to say that their favourite location thus far is the gate at the sewage treatment plant on an Invermay industrial estate.

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While their collaborators continue to cover the city in cats, Scabar is busy working on "the next phases of the rollout instead - of which there are many to come".

That said, what exactly Lord Scabar has next in store for the city and its residents remains a mystery.

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