diff --git a/src/client/content_cao.cpp b/src/client/content_cao.cpp
index 5a8e1222f..16ceda4ec 100644
--- a/src/client/content_cao.cpp
+++ b/src/client/content_cao.cpp
@@ -741,7 +741,8 @@ void GenericCAO::addToScene(ITextureSource *tsrc, scene::ISceneManager *smgr)
 		});
 	} else if (m_prop.visual == "mesh") {
 		grabMatrixNode();
-		scene::IAnimatedMesh *mesh = m_client->getMesh(m_prop.mesh, true);
+		// can't cache mesh if shaders disabled, since we modify vertices
+		scene::IAnimatedMesh *mesh = m_client->getMesh(m_prop.mesh, m_enable_shaders);
 		if (mesh) {
 			if (!checkMeshNormals(mesh)) {
 				infostream << "GenericCAO: recalculating normals for mesh "