diff --git a/kitty/kittens.c b/kitty/kittens.c
index be54d80ba..96618d5e8 100644
--- a/kitty/kittens.c
+++ b/kitty/kittens.c
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ read_response(int fd, monotonic_t timeout, PyObject *ans) {
         switch(state) {
             case START:
                 if (ch == 0x1b) state = STARTING_ESC;
+                if (ch == 0x03) { PyErr_SetString(PyExc_KeyboardInterrupt, "User pressed Ctrl-c"); return false; }
                 break;
 #define CASE(curr, q, next) case curr: state = ch == q ? next : START; break;
             CASE(STARTING_ESC, 'P', P);
diff --git a/kitty/remote_control.py b/kitty/remote_control.py
index 6d9677d0c..33c2a141b 100644
--- a/kitty/remote_control.py
+++ b/kitty/remote_control.py
@@ -467,8 +467,15 @@ def main(args: List[str]) -> None:
         original_send_cmd['cancel_async'] = True
         if encrypter is not None:
             send = encrypter(original_send_cmd)
-        do_io(global_opts.to, send, True, 10)
+        try:
+            do_io(global_opts.to, send, True, 10)
+        except KeyboardInterrupt:
+            sys.excepthook = lambda *a: print('Interrupted by user', file=sys.stderr)
+            raise
         raise SystemExit(f'Timed out after {response_timeout} seconds waiting for response from kitty')
+    except KeyboardInterrupt:
+        sys.excepthook = lambda *a: print('Interrupted by user', file=sys.stderr)
+        raise
     if no_response:
         return
     if not response.get('ok'):