diff --git a/bin/blackbox_cat b/bin/blackbox_cat
index 141399d..e8893be 100755
--- a/bin/blackbox_cat
+++ b/bin/blackbox_cat
@@ -7,8 +7,14 @@ set -e
 . _blackbox_common.sh
 
 for param in """$@""" ; do
+  shreddable=0
   unencrypted_file=$(get_unencrypted_filename "$param")
-  blackbox_edit_start "$param"
-  cat $unencrypted_file
-  shred_file "$unencrypted_file"
+  if [[ ! -e "$unencrypted_file" ]]; then
+    blackbox_edit_start "$param"
+    shreddable=1
+  fi
+  cat "$unencrypted_file"
+  if [[ $shreddable = 1 ]]; then
+    shred_file "$unencrypted_file"
+  fi
 done