‘Riverdale’: We Finally Know What Happened to Betty’s Cat, Toffee, in Season 5

Riverdale fans need justice for Toffee. Early in Riverdale Season 5, viewers caught a glimpse of Betty Cooper’s (Lili Reinhart) new cat, and many people immediately fell in love with the feline. However, the next few episodes came and went with no other mention or sight of Toffee. Before fans knew it, the entire season went by, and Betty no longer had a cat. Unfortunately, Riverdale seemed to have forgotten about poor little Toffee, leaving viewers to wonder what happened to her. Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has finally cleared things up.

[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for ‘Riverdale’ Season 5.]

Betty left her cat behind in ‘Riverdale’ Season 5

Riverdale Season 5 featured a time jump, with episode 4 taking place seven years after the characters’ high school graduation. Betty moved to Quantico, Virginia, to begin FBI training, but she was captured by the dangerous Trash Bag Killer (TBK) during an investigation. Months after the incident, she still experienced nightmares and trauma. Fans watched Betty experience one of her horrific nightmares in her apartment, where she lived with the one and only Toffee.

Soon, Betty received a call to head home to Riverdale for Pop’s (Alvin Sanders) retirement party. She asked Glen (Greyston Holt), her fellow FBI trainee and romantic interest, to take care of Toffee while she was away. However, the short trip turned into a weeks-long stay when Betty’s sister, Polly (Tiera Skovbye), went missing. Betty decided to stay in Riverdale to investigate her disappearance and teach an auto shop class at Riverdale High.

Betty remained in contact with Glen, but she never asked about Toffee. Glen even visited Riverdale himself, leading many fans to worry about the cat even more. Who fed her when Glen wasn’t around? Did he abandon his former lover’s pet? Betty then moved back to Riverdale permanently to open an FBI branch in town, and it seemed clear fans would never see Toffee again.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa finally spoke out about Toffee

Aguirre-Sacasa appeared for a special episode of the Riverdale After Dark podcast on Oct. 19 to share a preview of season 6. During the episode, the hosts took a moment to ask Aguirre-Sacasa season 5’s burning question: where is Toffee?

Aguirre-Sacasa all but confirmed that the Riverdale writers forgot about Toffee’s existence. In fact, the showrunner even confused Toffee with Betty’s childhood cat, Caramel. Thankfully, Aguirre-Sacasa explained that he adopted his own cat and became a cat lover after Riverdale Season 5’s production, which means fans might see Betty with another feline companion in future episodes.

“We became cat fanatics after Toffee’s off-screen fate had been sealed. This may not be the end of Betty and cats, but it might be the end of [Toffee],” he said.

If that answer doesn’t satisfy fans, another one might. One Riverdale After Dark host shared their theory about Toffee’s whereabouts in season 5, and Aguirre-Sacasa said the idea had potential.

“Is Toffee in a cat briefcase where one end of the briefcase is food and the other end … is kitty litter? So it’s a perfectly controlled environment … Glen is maybe carrying around Toffee,” the host said.

There you have it, Riverdale fans — Toffee might have been right under everyone’s noses the entire time.

Betty is living a cat-free life in ‘Riverdale’ Season 6

Riverdale Season 6 began on Nov. 16, taking fans to an alternate universe where Riverdale is actually Rivervale. Apparently, alternate universe Betty hasn’t had time to adopt another cat yet. Then again, she’s been pretty busy summoning ghosts and starring in Pagan sacrificial rituals.

Aguirre-Sacasa’s newfound love of cats hopefully means that fans will see Betty find another pet in the future — and maybe this one will stick around.

Riverdale Season 6’s five-episode ‘Rivervale’ event airs new episodes on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on the CW.