diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index a7e815fd7c..6918aee61a 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ else()
   if (HAVE_LIBCURSES)
     target_link_libraries(nvim curses)
   else()
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "can't find something resembling -ltermcap")
+    find_package(Curses REQUIRED)
+    target_link_libraries(nvim ${CURSES_LIBRARIES})
   endif()
 endif()