1997 Honda Civic ses light, hard to accel and rough running

i was going 70 on the interstate in 5th gear and then the ses light flashed, engine felt strained, ses light went solid, then at idle you could feel the car chugging and there was like a burning smell...but couldnt tell if if it was me or other vehicles. a friend of mine seems to think it may be the converter and it makes sense...but there wasnt any rotten egg smell. had to drive 40 miles to get home and only cut off once when I had to stop in traffic. i dont know where the data link is to hook up a scanner to get the trouble code/s. i am not against getting a scanner since this is the first time the car has had a real performance problem since I bought the car 4 years ago. am I in the right neighborhood with it being the cat?

thank you!