I must have missed this post the first time around.

I don't think that a mirror is necessarily a fair test. From what I have learned, cats identify each other through smell, not sight. Since their vision is in tune for hunting and looking for movement, I'm guessing that the act of staring in the mirror isn't all that exciting for a lot of cats.

Also, I know that my cats might react to movement on the TV, but what can really get their attention is an authentic animal sound.

As for an awareness of self - I don't know how a cat would interpret that question since every cat I've ever met is 100% sure tthat the world revolves around just them and that we humans are here to serve them.