Mine definitely isn't gentle, but I think that that's only because I don't mind getting a little bit scratched up when playing with him so I only taught him to keep it to that. He understands that playtime is over otherwise. He seems to understand when he has done more than he meant to as well, he immediately goes from fighting to affectionate

Same experience with kneading though. It's very cute that he's so happy and comfortable but holy shit cat your claws are so sharp

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 years ago

I've never used my hands directly for play, so that probably makes a difference. He only gets to go full wild animal on wand toys and such. I don't mind some scratches either, but I made it a point to really make even the slightest catching on skin to be off-limits, so as to be able to let others handle him without worry. Especially with one of sisters starting off quite scared of him.

And yup, the kneading can go from 0 to 100 very suddenly.