Hi Ms. Ali,
I've had cat codes on my '99 Beetle, and it doesn't always mean a thousand dollar repair. Some of the codes can be alleviated by replacing the oxygen sensors that detect the functioning of the catalytic converter rather than replacing the cat itself. It's gone both ways on my bug; I got the codes to go away by replacing oxygen sensors, but eventually I ended up having to replace the cat itself. But even that doesn't have to cost so much; I bought an aftermarket cat from a reputable manufacturer - Magnaflow and Walker are both good brands - and had a shop weld the replacement in for far cheaper than $1000.
Specifically what code or codes are you getting on your car? What year is it? Is it a Turbo model?