diff --git a/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_auth_cache.erl b/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_auth_cache.erl
index 638d8c74874..483eb8bb767 100644
--- a/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_auth_cache.erl
+++ b/src/chttpd/src/chttpd_auth_cache.erl
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ maybe_increment_auth_cache_miss(UserName) ->
 %% gen_server callbacks
 
 init([]) ->
-    self() ! {start_listener, 0},
+    self() ! {maybe_start_listener, 0},
     {ok, #state{}}.
 
 handle_call(_Call, _From, State) ->
@@ -110,17 +110,24 @@ handle_cast(_Msg, State) ->
     {noreply, State}.
 
 handle_info({'DOWN', _, _, Pid, Reason}, #state{changes_pid=Pid} = State) ->
-    Seq = case Reason of
-        {seq, EndSeq} ->
+    Seq = case {Reason, db_exists(dbname())} of
+        {{seq, EndSeq}, true} ->
             EndSeq;
         _ ->
             couch_log:notice("~p changes listener died ~r", [?MODULE, Reason]),
             0
     end,
-    erlang:send_after(5000, self(), {start_listener, Seq}),
-    {noreply, State#state{last_seq=Seq}};
-handle_info({start_listener, Seq}, State) ->
-    {noreply, State#state{changes_pid = spawn_changes(Seq)}};
+    erlang:send_after(5000, self(), {maybe_start_listener, Seq}),
+    {noreply, State#state{last_seq = Seq, changes_pid = undefined}};
+handle_info({maybe_start_listener, Seq}, State) ->
+    State1 = case may_spawn_listener(State) of
+        true ->
+            State#state{changes_pid = spawn_changes(Seq)};
+        false ->
+            erlang:send_after(5000, self(), {maybe_start_listener, Seq}),
+            State
+    end,
+    {noreply, State1};
 handle_info(_Msg, State) ->
     {noreply, State}.
 
@@ -134,6 +141,17 @@ code_change(_OldVsn, #state{}=State, _Extra) ->
 
 %% private functions
 
+may_spawn_listener(#state{changes_pid = Pid}) ->
+    case is_pid(Pid) andalso is_process_alive(Pid) of
+        true ->
+            false;
+        false ->
+            db_exists(dbname())
+    end.
+
+db_exists(DbName) ->
+    is_list(catch mem3:shards(DbName)).
+
 spawn_changes(Since) ->
     {Pid, _} = spawn_monitor(?MODULE, listen_for_changes, [Since]),
     Pid.
diff --git a/src/chttpd/test/chttpd_auth_cache_test.erl b/src/chttpd/test/chttpd_auth_cache_test.erl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0d7f801517a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chttpd/test/chttpd_auth_cache_test.erl
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+% Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+% use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+% the License at
+%
+%   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+%
+% Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+% distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+% WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+% License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+% the License.
+
+-module(chttpd_auth_cache_test).
+
+-include_lib("couch/include/couch_eunit.hrl").
+-include_lib("couch/include/couch_db.hrl").
+
+
+setup() ->
+    DbName = ?tempdb(),
+    ok = fabric:create_db(DbName),
+    DbName.
+
+
+teardown(DbName) ->
+    fabric:delete_db(DbName).
+
+
+auth_db_change_listener_lifecycle_test_() ->
+    {
+        "auth db and change listener lifecycle tests",
+        {
+            setup,
+            fun chttpd_test_util:start_couch/0,
+            fun chttpd_test_util:stop_couch/1,
+            {
+                foreach,
+                fun setup/0, fun teardown/1,
+                [
+                    fun change_listener_should_not_start_if_auth_db_missing/1,
+                    fun change_listener_should_start_if_auth_db_exists/1
+                ]
+            }
+        }
+    }.
+
+
+
+change_listener_should_not_start_if_auth_db_missing(_DbName) ->
+    ?_test(begin
+        %% ok = restart_app(chttpd),
+        AuthCachePid = whereis(chttpd_auth_cache),
+        ?assert(is_pid(AuthCachePid)),
+        Expected = {state, undefined, "0"},
+        ?assertEqual(Expected, sys:get_state(AuthCachePid)),
+        ok
+    end).
+
+
+change_listener_should_start_if_auth_db_exists(DbName) ->
+    ?_test(begin
+        config:set("chttpd_auth", "authentication_db", ?b2l(DbName), false),
+        ok = restart_app(chttpd),
+        AuthCachePid = whereis(chttpd_auth_cache),
+        ?assert(is_pid(AuthCachePid)),
+        ListenerPid = test_util:wait(fun() ->
+            case sys:get_state(AuthCachePid) of
+                {state, undefined, "0"} -> wait;
+                {state, Pid, "0"} when is_pid(Pid) -> Pid
+            end
+        end, 1000, 10),
+        ?assert(is_pid(ListenerPid) andalso is_process_alive(ListenerPid)),
+        config:set("chttpd_auth", "authentication_db", "_users", false),
+        ok
+    end).
+
+
+restart_app(App) ->
+    ok = application:stop(App),
+    ok = application:start(App).