Advanced Introduction Help

I've read lots of stuff on this site and researched elsewhere about the subject of introducing cats, but everything I've read seems to end at having them eat in the same room or having them be in the same room without hissing or growling. I've done all of the recommended stuff as far as keeping it at a slow pace, letting them get used to each other scents, having them play through a door, using a baby gate. All of that stuff worked to get them better acquainted but I, and the two cats, seem to be stuck. They'll eat next to each other without any hissing or growling, but maybe a little hesistation, but when they are done they keep chasing each other around and kind of tagging each other with their paws.

They don't seem to be hurting each other but I'm not sure when I should break up their fights and seperate them or when to let them keep "working out their heirarchy". After messing around with each other it seems like one will want to leave and the other will be curious and follow them, and either they go back to kind of fighting but not too hard (without claws and no biting, and hardly any noise) or one will not notice the other and get scared then do the previously mentioned behavior.

It seems like they want to be friends because occasionly they will roll over and expose their bellies (which I've heard is submissive and can be a form of greeting) and a few times they have sniffed each other and one of them even nudged the other once. So I'm not sure what I should do at this point besides what I've been doing, and also I'm not sure at what point I should seperate them when they're fighting/playing. Thanks for any info you guys can give,
-Houston

As long as there is no blood being drawn then they should be fine. Some cats just take a little longer time to work things out.

Have you bought some Feliway plug ins to help the problem? Or continue to put some pure vanilla extract on their bodies so they smell the same. If you read the other posts about it and tried everything, then you probably tried these two things already but I would just keep at it.

When you see chunks of fur coming off either cat, that often seems to be a signal that things are serious, especially if you find it's become one cat doing all the chasing, de-furring, etc. Also, if the noise level escalates beyond usual, that can be a sign that it's time to intervene.

Everything you describe makes it sound like the introductions are going perfectly! So...you've done a great job bringing a new cat into your household!

22 cats And first cat I had hated the new kitten..I was so worried...would only let him out if other cat was locked up. Now fast foward I just let the cats do thier thing-keep new cat sepereate till its spayed/neutered then keep in caged and once its healed enough I let it out into my room. Maybe my cats just don't care that much anymore. they hiss a day or two but I think they are ok as long as they still have thier full bowl. I have 2 cats who can get nasty-They are only ones I keep seperated now-they will start off nice enough but then it becomes a blood drawing fight. Thats only time I worry is if I hear a cat scream(not part of thier everday cry/vocals) RJ

Thanks for your replies, I kind of just needed some reassurance that it was normal and everything is going okay. It doesn't seem like one cat is being more aggressive than the other. They will both chase each other around and they will usually fall short of making contact, like they will kind of pounce but then draw back at the last second. Things seem like they are going better since yesterday and today, we've been able to not watch them as close and things don't seem to get out of hand. When one cat leaves the room the other will usually follow them out of curiousity but there isn't any major contact and no biting between them, also no hissing or growling. My roommates were a little more worried than I was because they haven't really read much on the subject so when they saw the cats kind of chasing each other around they got really nervous but there hasn't been any real big fights or problems. So it seems like they just need some more time thanks again
-Houston