diff --git a/credential-cache.c b/credential-cache.c
index 193301877f..9a03792c7d 100644
--- a/credential-cache.c
+++ b/credential-cache.c
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ static void do_cache(const char *socket, const char *action, int timeout,
 	}
 
 	if (send_request(socket, &buf) < 0) {
-		if (errno != ENOENT)
+		if (errno != ENOENT && errno != ECONNREFUSED)
 			die_errno("unable to connect to cache daemon");
 		if (flags & FLAG_SPAWN) {
 			spawn_daemon(socket);