Prather Colleen DVM

I am with the Chico Cat Coalition and we take all of our cats to Chico Animal Hospital, to see Dr. Prather (and Dr. Callen). She is so knowledgeable and regularly educates herself on new veterinary medical practices. Some vets just do what they have always done, but Dr. Prather strives to be at the top of her game. I appreciate that!
She has gone above and beyond for us at the Cat Coalition. She isn’t afraid to work with feral cats and she handles them like a pro. She has been treating one of our kittens (who is now a cat) for the last 7 – 8 months. He doesn’t have the last couple vertebrae, which makes it impossible for him to eliminate waste on his own (or at least with control). His condition is called «rumpy tail». He gets weekly treatment including bladder eliminations, acupuncture, massage and medicine. The cat is always in good spirits to see Dr. Prather and he will probably need care the rest of his life. He is one of our special needs kitties and Dr. Prather quickly found solutions for his unique situation without suggesting euthanizing. (We are a no-​kill shelter anyways and unless the animal will suffer greatly, we opt for treatment and Dr. Prather understands and respects that philosophy).

I am just so, so in love with Dr. Prather (as a vet!). She is seriously the most wonderful vet I’ve ever worked with. I am also absolutely in love with Chico Animal Hospital (see my separate review for the whole practice). I moved here two years ago from Indiana and had left a very good practice back there and was anxious about finding care for my pack (5 dogs when I moved — 3 now; natural selection NOT poor care!). I went somewhere else for about 6 – 7 months and then someone recommended Chico Animal Hospital and I haven’t looked back since!
My dogs are all special needs dogs so we «get to» go to the vet often so my review is based on pretty extensive knowledge over the past year and a half.
Every single person at Chico Animal Hospital is a gem. I personally love, love. love Dr. Prather. She quickly learned my and my pack of dogs’ names. If I’m in the clinic with a different dog she always asks about the others (especially if a different one has been in recently). She is so kind and gentle with my quirky babies, and I have seriously not a single complaint about any interaction with her.
Dr. Prather definitely goes over and above the care I’ve experienced in the past. Dr. Prather has called us in the evenings or on the weekends to report on a lab test we’ve been waiting on or if I leave a message that I have a question about something. She is not a 9 – 5 vet and I so, so appreciate that. She is also super detailed and willing to take the time I need to get the best picture of what is going on. I have never felt rushed or that she doesn’t care about one of my dogs. She also does exactly what she says she will do – if she says I’ll call you ASAP with the lab results I know she will. I’ve never been left waiting and wondering what’s going on because she does go over and above to make sure I’m on the same page with whatever is going on.
Dr. Prather is so compassionate and thoughtful about our animals. We had a dog with a very weird skin condition that we couldn’t figure out what was going on. Every time we saw her (5 times in 2 and a half weeks!) she had the most worried look on her face and I could tell she really wanted to do every thing she could think of to solve his medical mystery. Again she goes over and beyond and researched every possible thing she could think of to make sure she was giving the best care possible. Other vets might have just randomly tried different medications and/​or just thrown up their hands but Dr. Prather wanted to make sure that our boy got the best possible treatment AND didn’t cost us an arm and a leg just randomly trying things.
After a year and a half of seeing Dr. Prather I can 100% say I will never recommend a different vet (other than her practice partner Dr. Callen who is also awesome). I completely trust her opinion and know that our dogs are getting the BEST care possible in Chico (if not the world).

Being somewhat new to Chico, I had not established a relationship with a vet for my two dogs. When my 14 year old cocker spaniel got sick recently, I saw Dr. Prather at Chico Animal Hospital. I called the office as soon as they opened at 8am and was able to come in at 8:30am to have my dog seen, even though I had never been there before. Dr. Prather took her time in examining my dog and asked questions about his medical history. I really got the feeling that she cared about him and about me. That is hard to find in any health care provider these days! She did some tests and sent us home with meds. I felt like she was really reasonable about the tests she ran and did not try to «squeeze money» out of me, as some vets do. She called me the next day, as promised, to tell me the results of the tests. I was very happy with the overall experience. I have found my vet in Chico!