FF - we tried the same thing with the liver. My husband had fond memories of his dearly departed kitty going nuts over liver and wanted to recreate the experience.

Our gang did the same thing as yours - just looked at us with a "ok, this is amusing, now where is my food" look.

Moral of the story - never try to get a current cat to recreate a behavior found in a RB kitty - they'll kick you in the guts every time with their total indiference to your feelings.