diff --git a/src/General/Settings/Advanced.html b/src/General/Settings/Advanced.html
index 03d81f883..25768954b 100644
--- a/src/General/Settings/Advanced.html
+++ b/src/General/Settings/Advanced.html
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 
 <fieldset>
   <legend>External Catalog</legend>
-  <div class="warning" data-feature="External Catalog"><code>External Catalog</code> is disabled.</div>
+  <div class="warning" data-feature="External Catalog"><code>External Catalog</code> is disabled. This will be used only as a fallback.</div>
   <div>
     URLs of external catalog sites, where <code>%board</code> is to be replaced by the board name.<br>
     Each URL should be followed by <code>;boards:</code> and optionally <code>;exclude:</code> and a list of supported/excluded boards in the format explained in the Filter guide.
diff --git a/src/Miscellaneous/CatalogLinks.coffee b/src/Miscellaneous/CatalogLinks.coffee
index 7462f2256..27af6d5a6 100644
--- a/src/Miscellaneous/CatalogLinks.coffee
+++ b/src/Miscellaneous/CatalogLinks.coffee
@@ -108,8 +108,10 @@ CatalogLinks =
       external
     else if Index.enabledOn(board) and Conf['Use <%= meta.name %> Catalog']
       CatalogLinks.jsonIndex board, '#catalog'
+    else if (nativeCatalog = Get.url 'catalog', board)
+      nativeCatalog
     else
-      Get.url 'catalog', board
+      CatalogLinks.external board
 
   index: (board=g.BOARD) ->
     if Index.enabledOn(board)