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Case series summary This case report describes the history and presentation of two cats with presumed gabapentin-induced myoclonus. Although this phenomenon is well documented in people, there are no previous reports in cats. Both cats in the current report had International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) stage 2 chronic kidney disease, a history of seizures (one generalized, one focal), and received gabapentin before veterinary hospital visits to alleviate anxiety (doses in the range of 11.8–16.4 mg/kg). While in the hospital, both cats were noted to have intermittent short jerks of the head that were different from the seizure activity previously noted by their owners at home. These cases appear to be the first published reports of this potential adverse effect of gabapentin in cats and risk factors in the present cases mirror those described in people. Relevance and novel information Clinicians should be aware of the potential for this phenomenon in cats receiving recommended doses of gabapentin, and future studies should focus on the role of chronic kidney disease and other neurologic conditions as risk factors for development of this condition.

This article presents a historical study of suffragium. The developments in the meaning of the Latin word suffragium illustrate admirably the inner political evolution of ancient Rome, above all the growth of patronage, which provides the key to the working of the Roman constitution in the imperial period. Of the three main stages in the evolution of suffragium, only the first is at all well known to most classical scholars. Suffragium is said to mean a vote, voice, suffrage or the right of voting, right of suffrage. The only important extension of the meaning of suffragium during the period of the Roman Republic and early Principate, beyond the sphere of actual voting, is into a kindred field. When nothing is done by popular vote any longer, the original meaning of suffragium gives place to something very like that of suffragatio, which means influence, interest and patronage. Suffragium in this sense becomes just as much a technical term as when it denoted voting, and indeed it now reflects the realities of political power rather more accurately. From the gratuitous suffragium of the indulgent patron, venale suffragium is a natural development. Finally, the technical meaning of the word is extended to the other side of the bargain, the quid pro quo.