i agree the toy cat look nice, but i dont think other stuff is really needed. ironman very fast to lvl up, you will get pass those ferrets in like 10 clicks.
cerb drop the unholy iirc, but its not something really needed in game imo. since we can fast tele to home and go back to slayer task you wont really miss that holy symbol , you will go for dps
Ferrets dont seem that much needed, because you can easily level up hunting. (in all the Gamemodes except Realism I guess)
Birdhouses - easiest passive low level gains.
Which coincides with your opinion of ferrets not really being required. Alora offers a multiple range of ways to level hunter at all levels.