If you can define consciousness in a way that is independently verifiable, you should definitely do so. World-wide fame and riches await you.
If you have a phantom limb, you feel "conscious" of the extra limb even if it's not a real demonstration of self-awareness.
Animal Intelligence is an emergent phenomena resulting from many neurons coordinating. Conciousness is the feeling that all of those subsystems working together as a single thing, even if they aren't