Silent, one-way chasing in cats: aggression or play?

We got a second cat, age 4, neutered male. Our resident cat is also neutered male, age 6.

We did a slow introduction for a week, but we ended up jumping steps and letting them meet as they seemed to work well, and the new cat was barely eating. We had swapped scents and rooms, and they eat in the same room (when we can get the new cat to eat)

Our resident cat is a Siamese mix, pretty mellow. He seems quite comfortable with the new cat around. He will eat with him nearby, he will groom and go to sleep if the new cat is in the same room. He will blink at the new cat and look away.

The new cat is a bit more active, and at stares at the new cat at times. He blinks at the resident cat sometimes, but other times he will stare hard. New cat is quite vocal and also will go up to resident cat and do a little whine. We haven't been able to consistently feed him either, but not sure if its general stress of him moving and being around city noise.

Its day two since they're allowed in the same room. The new cat chases the resident cat, quite often. The resident cat does like to play chase, but I'm concerned that the resident cat isnt chasing the new cat back? And the resident cat at times ends up in a cat tree or in a box.

But there's no hissing, growling, fighting. Just new cat chasing the old cat.

It'll happen when the resident cat is just walking out into another room -- the new cat will chase. Sometimes the resident cat teases the new cat into chasing him. I do feel at times that the resident cat thinks its a game. But I'm not convinced the new cat feels the same way.

When the resident cat is lying down or sleeping in his tree, the new cat will whine and try to get to him. We have a shelf near the tree and the new cat will climb the shelf and stare at the resident cat. The resident cat doesnt care.

I'm getting a lot of mix signals.

Bad signs I'm getting: - chasing is not reciprocated - resident cat ends up in a tree/box often during chase - new cat often stares, and his tail is somewhat low/ straight out behind him when chasing or staring at the resident cat - new cat tries to get to resident cat even when resident cat is sleeping in the tree - resident cat doesnt seem to meow as much to eat or open the window

Good signs I see: - nose taps when they first see each other - resident cat seems to be initiating some of the chase, although he doesnt chase back - they will eat treats next to each other - no hissing, growling, or puffing - they will play with toys when in the same room as the other - they blink at each other (although new cat still stares sometimes) - no real fighting, biting or pawing

Is the resident cat just more submissive? Or did I jump steps too quickly and the new cat is still aggressive? Or is everything going the way it should?

submitted by /u/victillian
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/h8id2k/silent_oneway_chasing_in_cats_aggression_or_play/