Fragrances can upset the dominance hierarchy sometimes, which means that it can sometimes reduce disagreements among ferrets, but sometime it worsens them if the fragrance is too noticeable to them or applied to the wrong individual. There have been cases in which ferrets did not recognize friends after such applications, or -- for that matter -- after an operation temporarily changed the scent of a ferret. Imagine if you came home from a vacation and your family members had all undergone major plastic surgery so you couldn't tell which face went with which person. If you have seen that Twilight Zone episode in which a girl resisted surgery into one of the six acceptable faces and forms, you can imagine that ferrets might also resist all smelling alike on anything but a short term basis. Stink is status (and identification). [Posted in FML issue 3098]