I'm sorry to hear this. I know all about pred because Starr was on this and unfortunately he gained a lot of weight. He never became diabetic but he was eating Innova Evo which is a very high protein grain free food so this most likely helped him in that area. Pred will make her very thirsty and hungry. If you free feed her then she'll really gain a lot of weight. Starr wasn't free fed but he gained a lot of water weight and just seemed bloated. I hope that this will medicine will help Ellie Mae. Good luck.