Yamaha Damper Question

[Phil Bondi]

C3...the cat got on top of the wire, and chewed on A#1 Damper..now..the 
damper now works just fine, but I was surprised to see what looks like a 
plastic strip of black on top of the damper head.

Having never seen this before, since this best RPT in America thought 
they were all painted!!, do these strips exist, or should I just remove 
it..mask it, and paint it?

-Phil Bondi(Fl)