As pointed out in another thread, cats never really adjust to a cat carrier.

I would love to hear about other Bengal owners that have had a soft carrier destroyed by their darlings. Here is the story of how mine destroyed a soft cat carrier.

I was living in the mountains when Oberon was bequeathed to me as the farm we both lived at was being disbanded. I bought him a comfortable soft carrier for our move into town. The move was a 1 hour drive and a change of elevation from 9000ft to 5200 ft. I set the carrier on top of a box so he could see out the window. Less than a mile down the road, he managed to open the front door clasp which was held shut with a twist toggle. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

I pulled over, put him back in the carrier and seat-belted the carrier with the twist toggle flap facing the seat. Satisfied with my ingenuity, I proceeded down the mountain, despite all the loud howling and squawking. It occurred to me to sing some lullabies to soothe him. That actually quieted him for a bit, and my ego swelled. I am a clever cat whisperer. Yeah! I can make things work with this impossible cat. <grin>

I rested my hand near one of the mesh openings to let him sniff my hand and comfort him. Occasionally, he would start yowling again, probably because his ears were popping with the change in attitude. Lullabies became less effective and he became more and more agitated, occasionally biting me and clawing me through the mesh.

We got to the bottom of the mountain, and I ran into a detour. Just as I was trying to navigate an unexpected turn, we had a containment breach. He had chewed through the mesh and was coming at me with fangs and claws. I stuffed my purse in his face, wrapped the carrier in a beach towels I had handy, and whisked him into the bathroom of the new place as quickly as possible.

So does a normal hard sided carrier safely contain a Bengal?

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I leave my hard carrier out with the door off and her blanket in it all the time. I've seen her hauling things in, and hauling the blanket out, but she isn't uncomfortable around it or in it, she just treats it like another piece of furniture to sleep in ( found her regularly having naps in there ). My girl travels really well tho, so she hasn't tried escaping but since there is nothing that tears and the door holds on with a twisting top/bottom lock so I don't think she could actually get it open unless she gets an opposable thumb to pinch the lock and turn it.

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The little monsters 3

Thomas had a dog-sized hard carrier with reinforced steel bars and a top latch. Unfortunately it was side-loading, look for top loading if at all possible.

On taxi rides, he would rattle the bars and hiss at the driver. It was hysterical (to me, not the driver)

lol, nice story! My male bengal can ride in a soft sided carrier only because when something is scary he gets quiet and just hunkers down.

My other bengals into Tasmanian devils in carriers and I have a hard sided one to use as needed... but if I let them ride in a harness in the car they are fine and will mostly chill on the seat. This is because when they were little I took them for short rides on a harness in the car. I couldn't do that with my male because he was a rescue.

Disclaimer: I don't recommend doing this without formal training, the right type of cat, a helper, AND a harness/lead. I had help of my husband to handle the cat in the car and the cat wasn't really scared, more curious. I also always have a harness and lead on so no one gets excited to jump out of the car and get lost. The cat/lead is gathered up before any doors open!

I can't wait for the weather to warm up again, I brought my Akira in a ride to an ice cream place where we sat outside and she loved lounging on the table. She seems to be an adventure cat type.

It is good to hear that hard carriers work, but that sometimes they can rattle the bars!

Tamberev - I used to take my previous cats for rides without a carrier. I found that they would stress less when not confined.

I laugh at the "Tasmanian devil" description. I think that pretty much describes my Oberon. I doubt I will ever be able to transport him open the way I might a cat with a calmer disposition.

I aspire to leash train him, but I have yet to get a halter on him. I think I might be able to get him to join me on my balcony without trying to jump off onto the roof and the big world below. I have to keep that door bolted shut because he knows how to open it and every other lever handled door in the house.

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What an adventure for you and Oberon! I use a har-sided carrier. But, basically, it's for vet visits and our vet is 2 miles down the road. I have considered purchasing a soft-sided one for my domestic short hair as he bloodied his nose in trying to push open the front door of the carrier. Some say the soft side carrier is easier on the cat -- not as much fighting or yowling. I don't know. I have never used one. I keep getting this one in my Facebook feed and I'm tempted to try this, except my DSH cat is over 15 pounds and I don't know if he would like it. I'm sure the mesh is fairly easy to bite through -- a determined cat is a determined cat.

Some cats just don't travel well, some also don't care for being jammed into a carrier only when it's time to get poked so regardless of what type it is, try to get them used to it as "not a cage". I use a hard carrier because I can just leave it open and she's free to go in and out at the house without me having to worry about her trashing it "because fun". My vet is about 1hr each way and she spends most of that time just sleeping on her blanket in there without feeling like she's in a foreign place and scared ( or a familiar place and scared ).

177285.03-1.jpgI have the soft one the same as the picture above for my boy as he is really good in a carrier but my girl goes totally bazerk and tries to rip it apart so I bought this one but in pink for her it has hard sides which can zip wide open plus a zip on the top and no sharp bits on it because when I put her in an ordinary hard one she kept banging her face on the door and took the skin off her little nose.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

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The little monsters 3

One of my cats prefers the disposable cardboard carrier that is supposed to be a temporary thing. It has little holes where she can peer out and not be seen. Plus, cardboard. I'm looking for a more permanent one with similar features.

LadyKay
Those cardboard carriers are cool. But my Oberon would shred it in about 5 minutes flat. He loves cardboard, newspapers and books (to eat.)

I think they have those carriers in the plastic corrugated material they use for signs. You could maybe even make your own form that stuff which is available at one of the large hardware stores.

Another option is to take a cardboard one to an office supply or printing place and have it laminated. They charge by the square foot, so it shouldn't cost much. You could even decorate it before it is laminated. I believe that there a couple of options for the thickness of the laminate, so you could use the thick stuff for more durability. Or maybe go for 2 layers.

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I think the problem you'd have with the corrugated plastic would be the light emissions. It could be that your cat doesn't like the ambient light and prefers to stay in the shadows spying on people. You could probably get a hard carrier that is dark and blocks light, then cover the front grate with cardboard using zipties to hold it in place. Or it could be that she just likes the feel in which case you could probably just put a piece of cardboard at the bottom ( mine was dragging a paper bag into hers to lay on ).