Thankyou for the insight, I did think it may be something of the sort, it seems that now every time Topaz moves , Amber growls, just wondering if she is coming into heat, altho she has never behaved like this before, I am worried that Topaz, who hardly has any teeth will get hurt, Amber is the spoilt brat , and maybe this too is my fault, but I am surprised it took so long to manifest itself