Mary is contemplating getting a cat, "However I don't know if I'd ever trust
a cat alone with the ferts, especially with claws."
 
Naah, the ferrets won't use their claws to kick the cat's butt, they'll use
their teeth.
 
Seriously, unless you are getting a big 'ol tom, and you have a defenseless
young ferret or tiny (<1 lb) female, you should probably worry more about
the cat than you should about the ferrets.  (Introduce them carefully, but
I've seen cats and ferrets work out fine in every case I've seen.  Most cats
seem very reluctant to attack ferrets in the first place, and even more
reluctant if they've ever tried it before.)
 
Why don't you get a kitten and let it grow up to think it's a ferret?
 
We did that with a couple of rescue kittens, and it took the kittens a month
or so to figure out that 4 out of 5 ferrets surveyed were nice and playful
with them, but they better keep out of Boomer's (the no-nonsense ferret)
way, or he'd give them a chomp to let them know who was boss.
 
Best of Luck!
Dennis
P.S.  I think the pet combination that is unlikely to be successful is
ferrets and birds or ferrets and rodent-like animals.  I've heard of many
ferret- killed birds.
P.P.S.  Ferrets rule compared to cats.
[Posted in FML issue 1708]