The Istoriaphile’s Corner

I love some books for their wonderful writing.  I love some books for their wonderful characters.  I even love a few for their couldn’t-guess-that plots.   But All My Patients are Under the Bed and After All They’re Only Cats keep their place on my bookshelf because of their subject.  They’re about the pets we make part of their lives.  In this case they’re both about cats. Dr. Louis Camuti was a veterinarian that practiced in New York during the 20th century and  specialized in treating cats.   This is unexpected because a) he wasn’t really a “cat person. having no cats of his own and b) he was allergic to felines. Consequently, he really had under no illusions about the species.   He saw they could be good companions and he liked their assertive personalities but he knew they could be sneaky, naughty creatures as well.  So All My Patients are Under the Bed is a collection of professional anecdotes Dr. Camuti collected during his years of practice.  Some are well worth remembering. There were the times when he treated the cats in Tallulah Bankhead’s house (to make him completely unique, Dr. Camuti made housecalls!) and learned that however badly the actress…