Head Shaker is the 1st stage of The Crazed Cow. Next stage: Lots O' Lion.
The first half of Head Shaker is a warm-up: some B.B.Bunnies and a single Crazed Cow Cat at 20 seconds, with 130,000 HP and 100 range, hitting one target at a time. The stage starts when you touch the enemy base. At 99% base HP, 31 more Crazed Cows pour out, one every 3 to 4 seconds, and then more keep coming. Nothing stalls a horde like that for long. What wins is taking the horde's first wave all at once: plenty of cheap meatshields, a clump of area attackers behind them, and the timing to send everything at the same moment.
The lineup that does it
Ten units, no gacha, and seven of them are meatshields: Eraser Cat, Samba Cat, Macho Cat, Crazed Wall Cat, Crazed Macho Cat, Sumo Cat and Li'l Cat. The count matters more than how tough each one is. When thirty Cows land on the front line together, nearly anything dies to one hit, so seven cheap bodies beat three sturdy ones. That's also why this is the Crazed stage where Eraser Cat matters least. Behind the wall are UFO Cat, True Valkyrie Cat and Crazed Bahamut. UFO Cat's area attack is the point: stacked behind the wall, several UFO Cats hit the whole crowd at once. Pick area attackers for the damage slots. Single-target hitters barely dent a horde, and very long-range units tend to shoot past the Cows once they're pressed against your wall.
Treasures and items
Every enemy here is Traitless or a Red B.B.Bunny, so the Into the Future fruit treasures do nothing for you. What counts is the full set of Empire of Cats treasures at Superior; it's the usual missing piece when this plan fails for someone. Leave Rich Cat at home: the quiet opening gives you time to max out your Worker Cat. Bring Sniper the Cat, which handles the Bunnies at the start and keeps knocking Cows back later. Bring Cat CPU too, because the second half is pure spam.
The opening: farm the first Cow
Turn Cat CPU off, upgrade your Worker Cat, and send Crazed Macho Cats one at a time. With Sniper, that clears the opening Bunnies. When the Crazed Cow walks close, add Crazed Wall Cat and keep sending both on cooldown, levelling the Worker Cat between. Your line kills the Cow slowly, which is exactly what you want: every second she spends chewing Crazed Macho Cats is money in the bank. Once the Worker Cat is around level 8, add your slower meatshields. Don't rush the base; the longer the opening, the richer you are when the horde comes.
Crazed Macho and Crazed Wall Cats holding the first Crazed Cow · plays here, from that second
Lure the horde in, then send everything
When your units touch the enemy base, the Cows start pouring out. Don't fight them out there. Lay down a thin layer of meatshields and let the Cows walk to about halfway, or closer to your base. Then turn Cat CPU on and let it send everything. The reason is speed. Your units walk at different speeds, so if you send them into a fight far away, they arrive one at a time and die one at a time. Close to your base, the whole clump reaches the Cows together, and every area attack lands on the same crowd. That's the moment that decides the run.
the base touched, the horde starting to pour out · plays here, from that second
Get through the first wave
The first 31 Cows are the whole stage. Crazed Bahamut does most of the killing, and UFO Cat's area hits keep the crowd thin, but if the Cows reach Bahamut before he fires, the pile snowballs against you. Restarting is fine; some CPU runs don't go your way. Once that first wave is down, the Cows still keep coming, just too few to break a full line. From there the CPU walks it to the base.
the clump meeting the horde, the CPU on · plays here, from that second
The wiki's plan, and this one
The wiki suggests making progress in Into the Future first, for Holy Valkyrie or Awakened Bahamut. That helps, but this clear shows True Valkyrie and a level 30 Crazed Bahamut are enough, as long as the wall is wide enough. Its advice to lure the Cows halfway and let the CPU spam is the same rule as above. And it asks for five meatshields; this clear used seven.
past the first wave, pushing onto the base · plays here, from that second
Better units, if you have them
Flying Cat (Bird Cat's True Form) carries this stage: it outranges the Cows and deals huge area damage. With it, four meatshields, Valkyrie and Bahamut are enough. Crazed UFO Cat does the same job with a little more range. Paris Cat and Cameraman Cat turn the endless Cow money into damage, and Cyborg Cat with four meatshields is a common easy clear. Jiangshi Cat, the Pogo Cat True Form, is the best single meatshield here because it survives a lethal hit once. Warlock and Pierre at level 30 or higher can take the base down quickly from behind a wall.
THE SHORT VERSIONSeven cheap meatshields, area attackers behind them, Sniper and Cat CPU, no Rich Cat. Farm the first Cow slowly while your Worker Cat levels up. Then touch the base, lure the horde halfway, and send everything at once. Survive the first 31 Cows and you've won.
The general approach, from the wiki's strategy notes. The guide above walks through one full clear.
Hordes of single-target Crazed Cows with huge combined DPS — stalling them is hard even with crowd control, so the wiki's plan is offense: lure them halfway, then spam everything.
- Make progress in Into the Future first; without Holy Valkyrie or Awakened Bahamut this is a slog.
- Five meatshields are almost required; a Cat CPU spams them better than you can.
- Paris Cat and Cameraman turn the endless cow money into DPS; Awakened Bahamut clears hordes but dies fast, so he cannot be your only damage.
- Once the first wave of cows dies down, the stage is won; Warlock and Pierre at level 30+ can end it quickly.
ERASER CAT S Wall in the guide's clear. 
SAMBA CAT D Wall in the guide's clear. 
MACHO CAT D Wall in the guide's clear. 
CRAZED WALL CAT S Wall in the guide's clear. 
CRAZED MACHO CAT A Wall in the guide's clear. 
SUMO CAT B Wall in the guide's clear. 
LI'L CAT D Wall in the guide's clear. 
TRUE VALKYRIE CAT A Damage in the guide's clear. 
CRAZED BAHAMUT CAT A Horde killer in the guide's clear. 
CAMERAMAN CAT B More reliable sources of damage include Paris and Cameraman, who are the best ways to turn your money into pure unadulterated DPS in this stage. 
PARIS CAT A More reliable sources of damage include Paris and Cameraman, who are the best ways to turn your money into pure unadulterated DPS in this stage. ⚙ Trait counters worked out from the roster — the guide's plan doesn't need them; kept for reference
B.B.Bunny is Red. Anti-Red units take less damage and deal more.
FISH CAT A Strong Against Red and tanky for the cost — a sturdy anti-Red frontliner. 
BEAN CATS B Knockback and (True) Resist vs Red enemies. 
ADULT CAT B Prisoner Cat: Strong against Red enemies (Deals 1.5x damage, only takes 1/2 damage) Also fits “Out-range B.B.Bunny.” 
BATH CAT A Deals Massive Damage to Red enemies. Also fits “Out-range B.B.Bunny.” 
CAT CLAN HEROES S Weakens and damages Red. Also fits “Out-range B.B.Bunny.” B.B.Bunny reaches 110 range. Units that out-range it can chip safely without taking hits.
GROSS CAT A Range 350 — fires from beyond its 110. 
MASTER URIL A Range 405 — fires from beyond its 110. 
PIRATE CAT B Range 300 — fires from beyond its 110. Also fits “Counter Red.” 
CATWAY A Range 355 — fires from beyond its 110. Also fits “Counter Red.” 
THE WHITE RABBIT S Range 465 — fires from beyond its 110. Also fits “Counter Red.” 
The castle you destroy to clear the stage.