Zazen Bengals is a small in home cattery located in Brighton, Colorado.  We have lived with Bengal's since 1999 but did not decide to begin breeding until the Fall of 2005.  Our cats have free range of the house and have their own private space in the basement.  There is a special large enclosed cattery area we call "Alcat-traz) which is full of exercise equipment, climbing areas, and toys which we reserve as a bachelor pad for our Studs (and the girls during planned breeding)  Other than those 'special times' our female cats and kittens have free run of the entire house and spend time with the other resident humans, pet cats and our large dogs.  Pandaemonium as a tiny kitten    Shamballa at 4 months and Lucy snuggling on my office chairs (Lucy "Spirit" is our only rare silver marble and she is stunning) We have always loved cats, yet bengals have a very special place in our hearts.  Their personality and 'catitude' make them absolutely joyful and loving companions and it is our hope to share that joy with others.  Although all bengals are beautiful, we have grown to especially love the silver spotted bengals and it is our hope to work towards increasing the look of the rosetted leopard with a loving and loyal temperment in all the kittens that we breed.  The cats we have in our breeding program have all be chosen not only for their exceptional beauty and future potential, but mostly because they have social, loving and sweet personalities to enhance our lives and which they will pass on to their kittens. Bengals are incredible cats with very intelligent and lively personalities.  They are very active, very smart, very stubborn and very loving - however, very few of them can be classified as lap kitties.  It has been our experience that although Bengals are very loving and affectionate cats, they can also be very independent and are only very rarely the kind of cat who sits quietly on your lap.  (The only time our's do that is when they want to use us as furniture for a nap)  Bengals have incredible coloration ranging from warm red golds to sharply contrasted yellows and blacks and to our beautiful silvers.  Genetic silvers are rare cats, and it is this type of bengal that we choose to breed because they remind us of the stunning Asian Snow leopards of the Himalayas.  An Asian Snow Leopard   Bengals have incredible pelts which are very different from other cats.  Their coats feel like shaved beaver fur or rabbit and once you begin to pet one, you simply don't want to stop.  The texture of their coat is a very special part of being a bengal cat.  In addition, because the texture and structure of the coat is different from domestic cats, Bengal's don't usually shed as much as other breeds of cats.  They will 'blow' out their coats twice a year as the seasons change, but we have known alot of people who are normally allergic to cats who seem to do fine with bengals.  Shambala with one of his favorite toys - a pink poodle that he loves to attack, kill and carry around the house.   We have also recently expanded the colors we breed to include the rare silver snows, minks, sepias, and the very rare cinnamon