Is the ribbon or the paper you're typing on sustaining any damage when you type? I personally wouldn't worry about it if your ribbon and paper are not being effected. Most people who don't know a thing about typewriters will actually play with a machines by typing without a sheet of paper loaded in the carriage. I cringe whenever I see this happening in an antique shop or flea market, but I've received dozens of machines with platens covered in type. Typically I just clean the platen with rejuvinator, use a fingernail to roughly guage its hardness, and then test the machine with fresh ribbon and a sheet of paper. And as frequently the platen is just fine.

Take a picture of the cat too, lol.