diff --git a/panda/src/gobj/shader.cxx b/panda/src/gobj/shader.cxx
index a1067e9c9e..909b878adf 100644
--- a/panda/src/gobj/shader.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/gobj/shader.cxx
@@ -2525,6 +2525,7 @@ read(const ShaderFile &sfile, BamCacheRecord *record) {
 #else
       shader_cat.error()
         << "Tried to load Cg shader, but no Cg support is enabled.\n";
+      return false;
 #endif
     } else {
       shader_cat.error()
@@ -2618,6 +2619,7 @@ load(const ShaderFile &sbody, BamCacheRecord *record) {
 #else
       shader_cat.error()
         << "Tried to load Cg shader, but no Cg support is enabled.\n";
+      return false;
 #endif
     } else {
       shader_cat.error()