Would a catfish try to eat a fake worm?

Absolutely...my brother-in-law fishes his local river for catfish all the time, and his go to bait is u-tail plastic worm on a drop-shot rig.

I've caught catfish with a #3 mepps black fury, and a rebel wee craw before, channel cats

I haven't been catfishing this year, yet I've managed to catch 5 channel cats.  They will absolutely grab artificial bait.  Folks like to think of catfish as bottom-feeders, but that isn't the case.  Yes, they like to hang out near the bottom a lot, but they are hunters, voracious apex predators in their environment.  And like any other kind of predator fish, they can be fooled.

I have caught several cat fish on a jig and a gulp worm or gulp minnow.

If hunger takes over they would surely eat it.  I have never done it but

I have friends that have caught catfish with a worm.