- Not to be confused with the song by the same name from First Class Feline.
Flag of Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (Arabic: إمـارة أبوظـبي) is the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the largest and second-most populated of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, a West Asian country located on the northeastern portion of the Arabian Peninsula. Abu Dhabi is the UAE's second most-populated city after Dubai and as of 2024, has a population of over 1.5 million people.
Emblem of Abu Dhabi
In the context of Garfield, Abu Dhabi is also the location where Garfield repeatedly attempts to send Nermal to (with varying degrees of success) over the years. The reason for this is because the city of Abu Dhabi, and the majority of UAE, has a large amount of stray cats. The first mention of the city is, ironically, not an attempt to dispose of Nermal, but Garfield himself trying to get a ride there (he mistakes Jon's phone conversation to his mechanic about his car for instructions to the vet about him) in a 1981 strip. The phrase "Abu Dhabi is where all the cute kittens go" is sometimes used in the comic. One time, Herman Post once told Jon about a package with a cat inside (Nermal) with insufficient postage and a destination in Abu Dhabi. Jon then immediately suspected it was Garfield's doing. Another time, owing again to insufficient postage, Garfield sent the package with Nermal to Orson's farm instead; they promptly sent him back. Still another time, Garfield himself wound up in Abu Dhabi.