I have a VC - Encore CAT, and I find that operating a cat stove is a no-brainer, even my GF can do it with no problem, though she tends to load the stove more often than it needs.
Starting drill - build fire w/ paper, kindling, small splits - Open bypass, light fire, set air to max, close doors. - When stove top hits 3-400 close down air, close damper - do reload in shorter than normal interval due to not having full load when starting, and space occupied by kindling.
Reload drill - Open top door, stir coalbed a bit to make most ashes fall into pan. Close door, check pan - change if needed (every couple of days) Close pan. Open door and bypass, fill stove w/ wood. Close door, open air to max. When wood fully flame engulfed (5-10 minutes) close down air to desired heat level, close bypass damper - go away for next 8-10 hours...
Nothing complex, nothing difficult. My old smoke dragon needed far more futzing with, and was trickier to control.
The cat replacement - If used right, the cat should last at least SIX years, (it has a pro-rated warranty for that long) seven to ten seems typical, some go longer. The aftermarket cats for my stove are about $150 last time I checked, so we are not talking a major expense - in addition, it appears that many Non-Cats have a need to replace burn tubes, baffles, and other reburner parts at similar intervals and at approximately similar costs.
I would tend to say that the cat / non-cat arguement is mostly a non-issue, sort of like Ford vs. Chevy - each has its advantages, and neither is a perfect solution.
When I first came to Hearth.Com, I was fairly sure I didn't want anything to do with a cat stove. Now that I have one, I would say that they are a very good solution to my needs, and I have no regrets about getting it.
Gooserider