I've used the larger one with great success. Even so, using it presents two distinct problems.
Opossums are not a problem, and I have caught many. I just release them and they scoot along. But it was only after I caught my first skunk that I realized I had no plan to get rid of it. I didn't even know how I was going to get it out of the trap! I ended up covering it with a blue tarp then carefully opening the trap. It was nauseating, to say the least. He sprayed while caged; he sprayed when I covered the trap; he sprayed while I was trying to get the trap door open; and he left me one final shot as he ran away.
The second problem is seeing my neighbors' kids canvassing the neighborhood posting pictures of their lost pet. I don't care for cats, but I don't want to take a kid's pet. I didn’t take them to the animal control but I did make their lives a living hell while they were in that trap. A little responsibility on the parents’ part would go a long way. But that’s apparently asking a lot.
BTW…I have a dog but he’s the village idiot. I’ve watched as he raised up, eyed a cat walking across the yard then laid back down and went to sleep. Completely worthless.
Our situation has been easier than yours. I've never seen nor smelled a skunk in the nearly 15 years we've been here, and it seems as if all the roaming cats in the 'hood belong to older couples with grown kids. I can certainly understand your hesitation about trapping a child's pet. It is sad that the parents of said child don't realize (or maybe just don't care) that they are setting their child up to face a potentially tragic situation. A cat chasing down a squirrel or chipmunk is not going to look both ways when crossing the street. A beloved pet turned into roadkill is a trauma that no child should have to endure, especially considering that it is so easily avoided. Why can't people understand that??!