Film the Walk Itself, From More Than One Angle
Start with the simplest footage: your cat walking across a flat, familiar floor towards the camera, away from it, and across the frame side-on. Each angle shows something different — a shortened stride, a hip sway, a head bob, one leg placed more carefully than the others. Keep the camera low, near her height, and steady; a phone propped against books often beats a wobbling hand.
Let her choose the pace. Chasing or calling her into a hurry produces an excited scramble that hides the careful, stiff walk you actually want the vet to see, usually the first steps after she has been resting.
Capture the Movements That Challenge Her
Stiffness shows most in transitions, so film those deliberately: her first steps after a long nap, stepping in and out of the litter tray, turning in a tight space, and climbing or jumping only if she still attempts those herself. Never lift her somewhere high or encourage a jump she is avoiding just to get footage; what she declines to do is information too, and worth noting in words.
If she uses stairs, one clip of her going up and one coming down can be revealing, because different joints work hardest in each direction. Film from the side where it is safe to do so, without crowding her on the steps.
Contrast Is What Makes the Footage Useful
A stiff-day clip alone is easy to misread. Pair it with the same walk filmed on a good day, in the same hallway, so the vet can compare stride, willingness, and speed directly. Label each clip with the day and time as you take it; memory will not keep straight which Tuesday she struggled.
Add the context in a short note: had she just woken, had the house been cold, was this before or after she had been active? Patterns owners spot across clips — stiff after rest, looser once moving, worse in the evening — help the vet decide where the problem is likely to sit.
Keep Clips Short, Clear, and Honest
Thirty to sixty seconds of clear walking is worth more than five minutes of a cat sitting still, so trim dead time but do not edit out the awkward moments. Film in decent light, keep other pets out of shot where you can, and avoid narrating over the clip if the sound of her moving — a scuffed step, a small cry on jumping down — might itself matter.
Photographs help for posture: a side-on still of her standing, and one of how she sits or lies if that shape has changed, give the vet reference points between videos.
Bring Footage, Not Just a Verdict, to the Appointment
Cats famously move normally the moment they reach the clinic, fuelled by adrenaline, which is exactly why home footage matters. Show the vet the two or three clearest clips rather than a camera roll of dozens, and say plainly when the stiffness happens, how often, and what else has changed — jumping less, grooming less, sleeping in new places.
Sharing those clips ahead of the visit is simple with KinsLe through KinsLe Messenger, which keeps every conversation about your cat in one per-pet hub, so the footage, your notes, and the clinic's replies stay together.