Do stock cats have heat shields built in?

[VetteMed]

My passenger side cat appears to be cracked at the front-most weld. I can push upwards on the flange where the rest of the exhaust connected to, and there's noticeable flex. The driver's side has no flex to speak of.

Is this manifold/cat junk now? Or is this something that could be welded? Am I best off just waiting for a deal on a set of headers? (Might be old and gray before that happens...) Keep in mind, these manifolds have 188k miles on them, but the $1K needed to buy headers is really not there right now.

[tomtom72]

I don't see why a broken/cracked weld can not be re-welded?

Oh, forgot to answer the headline Q....no our cats do not have any heat shields attached to them like normal cars. All our heat shielding is attached to the block & frame rails, but not to the exhaust system itself.

:cheers:
Tom