diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic.go b/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic.go
index a8082721496..41acf15ab65 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic.go
@@ -121,6 +121,9 @@ type podRecords map[types.UID]*podRecord
 func NewGenericPLEG(logger klog.Logger, runtime kubecontainer.Runtime, eventChannel chan *PodLifecycleEvent,
 	relistDuration *RelistDuration, cache kubecontainer.Cache,
 	clock clock.Clock) PodLifecycleEventGenerator {
+	if cache == nil {
+		panic("cache cannot be nil")
+	}
 	return &GenericPLEG{
 		logger:         logger,
 		relistDuration: relistDuration,
@@ -265,45 +268,42 @@ func (g *GenericPLEG) Relist() {
 		}
 	}
 
-	var needsReinspection map[types.UID]*kubecontainer.Pod
-	if g.cacheEnabled() {
-		needsReinspection = make(map[types.UID]*kubecontainer.Pod)
-	}
+	needsReinspection := make(map[types.UID]*kubecontainer.Pod)
 
 	// If there are events associated with a pod, we should update the
 	// podCache.
 	for pid, events := range eventsByPodID {
 		pod := g.podRecords.getCurrent(pid)
-		if g.cacheEnabled() {
-			// updateCache() will inspect the pod and update the cache. If an
-			// error occurs during the inspection, we want PLEG to retry again
-			// in the next relist. To achieve this, we do not update the
-			// associated podRecord of the pod, so that the change will be
-			// detect again in the next relist.
-			// TODO: If many pods changed during the same relist period,
-			// inspecting the pod and getting the PodStatus to update the cache
-			// serially may take a while. We should be aware of this and
-			// parallelize if needed.
-			if err, updated := g.updateCache(ctx, pod, pid); err != nil {
-				// Rely on updateCache calling GetPodStatus to log the actual error.
-				g.logger.V(4).Error(err, "PLEG: Ignoring events for pod", "pod", klog.KRef(pod.Namespace, pod.Name))
 
-				// make sure we try to reinspect the pod during the next relisting
-				needsReinspection[pid] = pod
+		// updateCache() will inspect the pod and update the cache. If an
+		// error occurs during the inspection, we want PLEG to retry again
+		// in the next relist. To achieve this, we do not update the
+		// associated podRecord of the pod, so that the change will be
+		// detect again in the next relist.
+		// TODO: If many pods changed during the same relist period,
+		// inspecting the pod and getting the PodStatus to update the cache
+		// serially may take a while. We should be aware of this and
+		// parallelize if needed.
+		if err, updated := g.updateCache(ctx, pod, pid); err != nil {
+			// Rely on updateCache calling GetPodStatus to log the actual error.
+			g.logger.V(4).Error(err, "PLEG: Ignoring events for pod", "pod", klog.KRef(pod.Namespace, pod.Name))
 
-				continue
-			} else {
-				// this pod was in the list to reinspect and we did so because it had events, so remove it
-				// from the list (we don't want the reinspection code below to inspect it a second time in
-				// this relist execution)
-				delete(g.podsToReinspect, pid)
-				if utilfeature.DefaultFeatureGate.Enabled(features.EventedPLEG) {
-					if !updated {
-						continue
-					}
+			// make sure we try to reinspect the pod during the next relisting
+			needsReinspection[pid] = pod
+
+			continue
+		} else {
+			// this pod was in the list to reinspect and we did so because it had events, so remove it
+			// from the list (we don't want the reinspection code below to inspect it a second time in
+			// this relist execution)
+			delete(g.podsToReinspect, pid)
+			if utilfeature.DefaultFeatureGate.Enabled(features.EventedPLEG) {
+				if !updated {
+					continue
 				}
 			}
 		}
+
 		// Update the internal storage and send out the events.
 		g.podRecords.update(pid)
 
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ func (g *GenericPLEG) Relist() {
 			// Log exit code of containers when they finished in a particular event
 			if events[i].Type == ContainerDied {
 				// Fill up containerExitCode map for ContainerDied event when first time appeared
-				if len(containerExitCode) == 0 && pod != nil && g.cache != nil {
+				if len(containerExitCode) == 0 && pod != nil {
 					// Get updated podStatus
 					status, err := g.cache.Get(pod.ID)
 					if err == nil {
@@ -342,24 +342,22 @@ func (g *GenericPLEG) Relist() {
 		}
 	}
 
-	if g.cacheEnabled() {
-		// reinspect any pods that failed inspection during the previous relist
-		if len(g.podsToReinspect) > 0 {
-			g.logger.V(5).Info("GenericPLEG: Reinspecting pods that previously failed inspection")
-			for pid, pod := range g.podsToReinspect {
-				if err, _ := g.updateCache(ctx, pod, pid); err != nil {
-					// Rely on updateCache calling GetPodStatus to log the actual error.
-					g.logger.V(5).Error(err, "PLEG: pod failed reinspection", "pod", klog.KRef(pod.Namespace, pod.Name))
-					needsReinspection[pid] = pod
-				}
+	// reinspect any pods that failed inspection during the previous relist
+	if len(g.podsToReinspect) > 0 {
+		g.logger.V(5).Info("GenericPLEG: Reinspecting pods that previously failed inspection")
+		for pid, pod := range g.podsToReinspect {
+			if err, _ := g.updateCache(ctx, pod, pid); err != nil {
+				// Rely on updateCache calling GetPodStatus to log the actual error.
+				g.logger.V(5).Error(err, "PLEG: pod failed reinspection", "pod", klog.KRef(pod.Namespace, pod.Name))
+				needsReinspection[pid] = pod
 			}
 		}
-
-		// Update the cache timestamp.  This needs to happen *after*
-		// all pods have been properly updated in the cache.
-		g.cache.UpdateTime(timestamp)
 	}
 
+	// Update the cache timestamp.  This needs to happen *after*
+	// all pods have been properly updated in the cache.
+	g.cache.UpdateTime(timestamp)
+
 	// make sure we retain the list of pods that need reinspecting the next time relist is called
 	g.podsToReinspect = needsReinspection
 }
@@ -402,10 +400,6 @@ func computeEvents(logger klog.Logger, oldPod, newPod *kubecontainer.Pod, cid *k
 	return generateEvents(logger, pid, cid.ID, oldState, newState)
 }
 
-func (g *GenericPLEG) cacheEnabled() bool {
-	return g.cache != nil
-}
-
 // getPodIP preserves an older cached status' pod IP if the new status has no pod IPs
 // and its sandboxes have exited
 func (g *GenericPLEG) getPodIPs(pid types.UID, status *kubecontainer.PodStatus) []string {
@@ -488,9 +482,6 @@ func (g *GenericPLEG) updateCache(ctx context.Context, pod *kubecontainer.Pod, p
 
 func (g *GenericPLEG) UpdateCache(pod *kubecontainer.Pod, pid types.UID) (error, bool) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
-	if !g.cacheEnabled() {
-		return fmt.Errorf("pod cache disabled"), false
-	}
 	if pod == nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("pod cannot be nil"), false
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic_test.go
index d80848f3d50..16d5fad4d9e 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/pleg/generic_test.go
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 	"k8s.io/component-base/metrics/testutil"
+	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
 	kubecontainer "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/container"
 	containertest "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/container/testing"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/metrics"
@@ -57,16 +58,18 @@ func newTestGenericPLEG() *TestGenericPLEG {
 
 func newTestGenericPLEGWithChannelSize(eventChannelCap int) *TestGenericPLEG {
 	fakeRuntime := &containertest.FakeRuntime{}
+	fakeCache := containertest.NewFakeCache(fakeRuntime)
 	clock := testingclock.NewFakeClock(time.Time{})
 	// The channel capacity should be large enough to hold all events in a
 	// single test.
-	pleg := &GenericPLEG{
-		relistDuration: &RelistDuration{RelistPeriod: time.Hour, RelistThreshold: 3 * time.Minute},
-		runtime:        fakeRuntime,
-		eventChannel:   make(chan *PodLifecycleEvent, eventChannelCap),
-		podRecords:     make(podRecords),
-		clock:          clock,
-	}
+	pleg := NewGenericPLEG(
+		klog.Logger{},
+		fakeRuntime,
+		make(chan *PodLifecycleEvent, eventChannelCap),
+		&RelistDuration{RelistPeriod: time.Hour, RelistThreshold: 3 * time.Minute},
+		fakeCache,
+		clock,
+	).(*GenericPLEG)
 	return &TestGenericPLEG{pleg: pleg, runtime: fakeRuntime, clock: clock}
 }