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If the inspector sees what you got under the hood he can be a dick and check for cats, and also for paper work that says all the **** is street legal. But on a regular basis you are correct they dont physically look under the car for cats...they rely on the CEL.
I live in Rochester NY. I paid $300. extra for the cat option from TN and passed NYS inspection no problem. The shop that did my inspection does check for cats