diff --git a/src/strands/models/bedrock.py b/src/strands/models/bedrock.py
index bab4031ed..f25c1e90b 100644
--- a/src/strands/models/bedrock.py
+++ b/src/strands/models/bedrock.py
@@ -186,6 +186,11 @@ def _cache_strategy(self) -> str | None:
         model_id = self.config.get("model_id", "").lower()
         if "claude" in model_id or "anthropic" in model_id:
             return "anthropic"
+        # Application inference profile ARNs don't contain model names.
+        # When the user explicitly enables caching via cache_config, assume Anthropic
+        # strategy for Bedrock ARNs since only Anthropic models currently support it.
+        if model_id.startswith("arn:") and "bedrock" in model_id:
+            return "anthropic"
         return None
 
     @override