The cat is hungry when a crust contents her.

Severe hunger can make a meagre offering acceptable to someone who would ordinarily reject it. The cat’s willingness to eat bread reveals the strength of her need.

More broadly, the proverb suggests that necessity lowers a person’s standards. Acceptance of a poor substitute may reveal constrained circumstances rather than genuine satisfaction.

Use it when someone accepts food, an offer, or another provision that they would normally find inadequate. It can explain the choice without implying that the person has come to prefer what they accepted.