Pre-cat vs main cat.?

I was thinking of replacing my old cat. with a new one because I have emissions coming up. I was going to get a universal 2.25" to match my exhaust size but started reading something about a pre-cat. and main cat. on the direct fit model. Would this pre-cat and main cat affect my emissions compared to a universal?

your car has one cat. the universal will be fine, as long as it is an actual converter, not a test pipe

I was thinking so on all accounts. I thought I’ve seen other cars with two but I knew ours didn’t. I was getting to thinking their wording might be suggesting the tiny section of pipe before the actual cat.