2000 VW beetle catalytic converter?
 

I have a plugged converter on my car, and really do not want to spend tons of money replacing it. I want to know if it can be removed and still have the car run great. It has the pre and post cat O2 sensors, but neither is in the cat itself. We live in an area that has NO emissions testing or controls (one the last places in Canada) so I am not worried about that. I have done it on domestic vehicles, but these VW's seem to do everything different.
Thanks