Female cats being introduced...am I doing it right?

[thestrayedproject]

Had our new beautiful rag doll kitten for a month now. We did the usual thing of separating her from our older cat Saffi and introducing scents etc. There was hissing and growling at the start so we took it back to basics. Found out Saffi had an ear infection so this could explain her being grumpy.
Now they are allowed interaction with each other. Kitten follows Saffi around everywhere. Saffi is interested in the kitten but due to previously being batted by her kitten will run away or crouch down when Saffi goes to sniff her. This surprises Saffi so there are still a few bats and hisses but no growling or staring or anything. Kitten still follows Saffi around and the eat together and cope fine in the same room etc - is the occasional batting and hiss still ok or do we need to take it back to the beginning again?

[Kay]

if there are no bottlebrush tails then there is no real agression going on - Saffi will be keen to let the newcomer know who is boss cat, and may well continue to admonish her when she thinks she's getting above herself, but I don't think you have much to worry about here

my Tiffany still regularly hisses and swipes at Tosker, and they have been living together for 9 years - they both know her hiss is worse than her bite, and no blood has ever been drawn, even if a bit of fur has been known to fly

[thestrayedproject]

Oh fantastic - the little one will be pleased that she isn’t banished to a room. They are definitely interested in each other but I think both are worried about making the first move to friendship