FL doesn't require emission testing so he could honestly cut them out if he wanted. I do find it strange that he hasn't found somebody to just weld the cat back together. The seam is where they are break at eventually. I had mine welded by a muffler shop a few years ago and I didnt even know mine had split. It was making an awful sound but thought it was else until the shop pointed it. It also broke at worst spot then the one posted, mine was on the top of the passenger cat facing the front. Dont know how they managed to weld it but they did. It was a pretty a pretty weld due to the limited space but it has held just fine.