diff --git a/django_redis/cache.py b/django_redis/cache.py
index 94881ac5..ff4613be 100644
--- a/django_redis/cache.py
+++ b/django_redis/cache.py
@@ -185,7 +185,8 @@ def lock(self, *args, **kwargs):
 
     @omit_exception
     def close(self, **kwargs):
-        self.client.close(**kwargs)
+        if self._client:
+            self.client.close(**kwargs)
 
     @omit_exception
     def touch(self, *args, **kwargs):
diff --git a/tests/test_backend.py b/tests/test_backend.py
index 3a33a334..0090110c 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend.py
@@ -532,6 +532,11 @@ def test_close(self, cache: RedisCache, settings: SettingsWrapper):
         cache.set("f", "1")
         cache.close()
 
+    def test_close_uninitialized_client(self):
+        cache = RedisCache("default", {})
+        cache._client = None
+        cache.close()
+
     def test_close_client(self, cache: RedisCache, mocker: MockerFixture):
         mock = mocker.patch.object(cache.client, "close")
         cache.close()