diff --git a/CHANGES.txt b/CHANGES.txt
index fa407b507b..59a744338d 100644
--- a/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/CHANGES.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 1.1.11
+ * Fix trying to load deleted row into row cache on startup (CASSANDRA-4463)
  * Update offline scrub for 1.0 -> 1.1 directory structure (CASSANDRA-5195)
  * add tmp flag to Descriptor hashcode (CASSANDRA-4021)
  * fix logging of "Found table data in data directories" when only system tables
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/ColumnFamilyStore.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/ColumnFamilyStore.java
index 8d239e3a4d..02a782f4fc 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/ColumnFamilyStore.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/db/ColumnFamilyStore.java
@@ -457,7 +457,8 @@ public class ColumnFamilyStore implements ColumnFamilyStoreMBean
             ColumnFamily data = getTopLevelColumns(QueryFilter.getIdentityFilter(key, new QueryPath(columnFamily)),
                                                    Integer.MIN_VALUE,
                                                    true);
-            CacheService.instance.rowCache.put(new RowCacheKey(metadata.cfId, key), data);
+            if (data != null)
+                CacheService.instance.rowCache.put(new RowCacheKey(metadata.cfId, key), data);
             cachedRowsRead++;
         }