Catalytic Convertor on my Caddy

Hey guys, I have reason to beleive my catalytic converter has gone bad on my 94 Cadillac Deville, im not sure if it is stopped up or what but the side of the convertor is split and the exhaust is coming out of it, and needless to say it is LOUD. My question is how would a bad convertor affect the way my caddy runs? And would eliminating it all together harm my engine? By the way, we dont have emissions tests here. Thanks in advance.

It is a federal offense to remove the cat, adminstered by the states, but a bad cat will cause a loss of general performance.

would it cause my motor to miss and backfire at times??

I've seen them cause backfiring before with other cars. Not with a caddy, but I'm sure it can have the same effect.

just an update, i had the cat. conv. replaced and the car has ran beautiful since, the cat. had a split on the side and the guts were all busted up.