OT Raw vs JPEG - is deliberate over-exposure best?

This has only just struck me. I'd be interested in experts' comments:

If I am photographing a dark subject (black cat in a coal cellar) when ALL the tones in the final image will be on the left of the “histogram”, should I STILL expose to the right (ideally just enough to avoid clippping)? By this I mean DELIBERATELY over-exposing to get plenty of light into the pixels with a view to pulling back the exposure slider when developing the raw file?

If this is right, then “getting it right in the camera” is nonsense. If I am using raw, then I will do it differently from if I am shooting straight to jpg. I will "get it wrong" in the camera so as to make the final jpg better.

If this is correct, I have not heard it said explicitly.