there has to be a way to ditch the cat

There has to be some aftermarket exhaust out there by now that does away with the catalytic converter, and dumps 10 lbs of stock ugly, with a small gain in performance? Any takers?

 

Which year model? TBR has full systems for the 98-01 VFRs. Although, only the 00-01's have the cat.

 

'03 model year is the generation in question, but the header looks VERY similar to the '98-'01.

 

Occasionally a stock pipe system will appear on eBay. You need to be sure to get pipes from a 2000 or 2001 to have an O2 sensor port. 1998 and 1999 will also work but will need to be modified to accept the O2 sensor (or re-mapped) to eliminate it.

 

The cat can b cut open and removed then welded shut

 

All of the above! The 98-99 headers are a bolt on option and are slightly larger in diameter to boot. I have a set that I had ceramic coated and are destined to go on my 09 as I already have the O2 sensors bypassed. I have another set destined to go on my 5 Gen but I still need to clean them up and have ceramic coated as well.

As far as removing the CAT, you can do something similar to this...
http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthre...-the-inside-of-the-exhaust-chamber-looks-like