What would cause a driver side CAT overheating to the point of starting to slightly glow?

Could it be the insides blew out and are causing excess heat to build up or is this a sign of a larger problem at the engine?

Also, it is my understanding that a burnt out cat isn't necessarily bad for the engine, it is just bad in general because it is expensive to get them replaced. Namely, I don't have a major engine failure on my horizon because of this do I?

 

bump....

 

Just get rid of the cats. You can sell them to a guy on here for $135 I believe. They're only there for emissions, booooo.

 

If your cat is glowing then it is stopped up or the internals have separated causing a restriction.I cant say one way or the other about what caused the failure but I would get it repaired asap.Cat failure can be caused by many things misfires,excessive oil consumption,external damage to the cat housing, to name a few. The only time I see major engine problems with a failing cat is when people continue to run the vehicle with a stopped up cat resulting in bent pushrods, burnt valves,or most of the time it is blown exhaust manifold gaskets. because if the cat is stopped up the exhaust is forced back in to the engine and that is not good.Remove or change out the cat you should be fine.