Pet Safety / Compounds / Diphacinone

Is Diphacinone safe for dogs and cats?

High risk for pets

Diphacinone causes significant anticoagulant toxicosis in dogs via VKOR inhibition; half-life in dogs shorter than SGARs (estimated days to weeks). Consumer-accessible bait products mean higher domestic dog exposure rate than SGAR-restricted products. Clinical onset 2–5 days post-ingestion. Treatment: vitamin K1 orally for 2–4 weeks; post-treatment INR recheck. Prognosis is good with treatment. The FGAR label remains common in hardware stores (Ramik, Ditrac), making this a frequent APCC call.

What is diphacinone?

The IUPAC name is 2-(2,2-diphenylacetyl)indene-1,3-dione.

Also known as: 2-(2,2-diphenylacetyl)indene-1,3-dione, DIPHENADIONE, Didandin, Diphenacin.

IUPAC name
2-(2,2-diphenylacetyl)indene-1,3-dione
CAS number
82-66-6
Molecular formula
C23H16O3
Molecular weight
340.4 g/mol
SMILES
C1=CC=C(C=C1)C(C2=CC=CC=C2)C(=O)C3C(=O)C4=CC=CC=C4C3=O
PubChem CID
6719

Risk for dogs

High risk

Diphacinone causes significant anticoagulant toxicosis in dogs via VKOR inhibition; half-life in dogs shorter than SGARs (estimated days to weeks). Consumer-accessible bait products mean higher domestic dog exposure rate than SGAR-restricted products. Clinical onset 2–5 days post-ingestion. Treatment: vitamin K1 orally for 2–4 weeks; post-treatment INR recheck. Prognosis is good with treatment. The FGAR label remains common in hardware stores (Ramik, Ditrac), making this a frequent APCC call.

Risk for cats

High risk

Diphacinone is toxic to cats via the same VKOR inhibition mechanism; cats most likely to encounter FGARs through prey that has consumed multiple feedings of bait. Clinical hemorrhagic syndrome with 2–5 day onset. Vitamin K1 for 2–4 weeks; prognosis good with early treatment.

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Diphacinone.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
Unknown——

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter diphacinone

  • Industrial Facilities — Manufacturing plants, Chemical storage areas, Waste treatment sites
  • Occupational Environments — Factories, Warehouses, Transportation vehicles

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Diphacinone:

  • Physical/mechanical pest control (IPM)
    Trade-offs: More labor-intensive. May not be sufficient for severe infestations.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is diphacinone safe for pets?

Diphacinone causes significant anticoagulant toxicosis in dogs via VKOR inhibition; half-life in dogs shorter than SGARs (estimated days to weeks). Consumer-accessible bait products mean higher domestic dog exposure rate than SGAR-restricted products. Clinical onset 2–5 days post-ingestion. Treatment: vitamin K1 orally for 2–4 weeks; post-treatment INR recheck. Prognosis is good with treatment. The FGAR label remains common in hardware stores (Ramik, Ditrac), making this a frequent APCC call.

What products contain diphacinone?

Diphacinone appears in: Manufacturing plants (Industrial facilities); Chemical storage areas (Industrial facilities); Factories (Occupational environments); Warehouses (Occupational environments).

See Diphacinone in the pets app

Look up products containing diphacinone, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in pets View raw API data

Sources (2)
  1. US EPA: Rodenticide Cluster Registration Review — diphacinone, chlorophacinone, warfarin (FGARs); brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, difenacoum (SGARs); bromethalin; cholecalciferol; zinc phosphide; risk assessment; use restrictions; Hawaii native bird program (2020) (2020) — regulatory
  2. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: Rodenticide Toxicosis in Dogs and Cats — anticoagulant SGARs/FGARs; bromethalin; cholecalciferol; zinc phosphide; vitamin K1 dosing; decontamination windows; INR monitoring; prognosis by rodenticide class (2023) (2023) — veterinary

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →