Writers have noted Jerusalem's large stray cat population for hundreds of year. While historically they were meant only to control the rat population, in practice they have become an integral part of the fabric of the city. Thousands of Jerusalemites throughout the city regularly feed and care for these stray cats, and when the municipality modernized the garbage-collection bins, replacing them with self-closing containers that cats cannot enter, there was a public outcry. The city ultimately installed official street feeding stations, so the cats won't go hungry.