# How many times should I reuse a syringe on my cat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 11, 2025, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463 "2025-06-11T09:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/1 "2025-06-11T09:46:16Z")
One of my cats has diabetes, and so needs a shot of insulin every morning and evening. I use the same needle for both, and often for a few days afterwards. Is this bad? Should I use a fresh one every day? Not an urgent question-mainly curious. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/2 "2025-06-11T09:54:51Z")
For my diabetic cat I used the same syringe for morning and evening insulin shots, but started each day with a fresh one - that way I didn’t have to wonder ‘how many times have I used this one’ yet still managed to halve the cost and amount of generated waste. He lived another six years after initial diagnosis with no apparent ill effects from this approach. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/3 "2025-06-11T10:16:46Z")
Thanks for the info! Someone told me that the needles would gradually dull from overuse, but I don’t believe them. Obviously if it gets crooked I get a new one. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/4 "2025-06-11T10:32:24Z")
Yes, they dull, and an old needle hurts more. I’d use a new one every day. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/5 "2025-06-11T11:19:17Z")
I’ve injected hundreds of cattle with the same needle (the innoculation setup looked like a spray-gun with reservoir on top and a very solid needle below - it looks like a very sharp spray-gun) I mean, sure, they were cows in a “cattle crush”, which is a one animal-at-a-time cage where they were constrained for the five to ten seconds it took to do the innoculation, and their next stop was a swim through dip (for ticks) I assume there are no cattle diseases like HIV that spread intravenously. Cats get FIV, but not being a vet, I don’t know how communicable it is via blood. But, I also volunteer at an animal rescue, and the vets I deal with perform to human safety standards, 1 needle & syringe per injection and a sharps box to dispose of them. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/6 "2025-06-11T11:55:42Z")
This link from [Kaiser](https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/health-encyclopedia/he.insulin-reusing-syringes-and-lancets-safely.hw39057) suggests they get dull after about 5 uses. So, I’d figure 2-3 days is no big deal if your cat is tolerating it ok. Ages ago I had a cat with diabetes and we reused the needle a few days as well. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/7 "2025-06-11T13:16:48Z")
My cat was on insulin twice a day for ten years. I used a new needle every time. The bigger problem is not the sharpness but that any tissue in the lumem of the needle can get bacteria on it in 12 or so hours and then you are injecting them into the cat. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/8 "2025-06-11T17:34:42Z")
One of my previous cats had diabetes, initially he needed 2 shots a day, but went down to 1 a day after about 3 years, and lived for 10 more years. We reused the syringes, initially for two days or 4 injections, then switched to 3 days or 3 injections. We would draw a tiny amount of isopropyl alcohol into the syringe and then squirt it back out after each injection to sterilize the needle. Any residual alcohol had 6 to 8 hours to safely evaporate between injections. He lasted nearly 14 years on this regime with no infection issues. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-should-i-reuse-a-syringe-on-my-cat/1019463/9 "2025-06-11T18:28:56Z")
New. Yes they do dull. Dull needles hurt. Tear more at the skin. Make tiny little infections. Hard to see. But buddy, you feel them. Insulin needles are dirt cheap.