If a vehicle came with a cat, a cat needs to be on or they may fine you and if its a emissions state most likely you will fail the test unless you know some one that will pass you.
How to gut a cat is many ways but my favorite is if there's no bends to get in your way grab a small pole, pipe, metal broomstick, could maybe get away with a wooden one, and start slamming the pole in the cat to break up the honey comb ( like making butter back in the day lol )
the other way is take the cat and cut it in half with the org welds. remove everything and the exhaust pipe inlet and outlet then replace it with a pipe that goes all the way threw and weld the cat over that pipe.
this is how i did my 79 monte i had 3 inch exhaust i didn't feel like buying a hi flow cat so did what i told you but i ground the inlet and outlet till a 3 inch pipe would fit.
when you just gut the cat and don't fill it with a pipe you gain some hp and tq and a little louder exhaust but your still causing a disturbance in the flow of the exhaust so you still don't have all the power potential of this little easy mod