When I moved in, there was always something to fix in my apartment. And obviously, I didn't take my toolbox with me in my suitcase. Unless you don't have too many clothes and make up, you won't either, because the airlines will destroy you with excess bagage fees :-D
So during my first month I was always looking for tools, nails, screws, lightbulbs, that kind of things.
Here are a few examples of places where you will be able to find these items :

• Lulu and Carrefour have some items (particularly light bulbs, powerstrips, etc.)
• An Ace store openned in Yas Island, which will remind you of the big hardware stores from the States or Europe. It is accross the street from Ikea.

• Electra street in downtown Abu Dhabi has a million little hardware stores. You can't park your car in the street, you will have to park behind the buildings and then walk around and find a store which sells whatever you are looking for. These stores are usually very cheap, and you can also negotiate prices if you feel confident enough. The people in these stores are very knowledgeable and carry a lot of inventory, so I would strongly advise you to go there, instead of supermarkets or Ace. You will find what you need for sure, don't be shy!

Hello guys!
Today just a quick article to sum up the various pet stores I found in Abu dhabi. If you have any suggestions, or reviews, I'll be very happy to add them to the list. Just leave a comment at the bottom of the article. And obviously, every time I'll find out about something new, I will update the article.

So here we go!

Lulu supermarkets : food for cats, dogs, birds, fishes. Some accessories such as leash/collar, brushes, very lame toys for dogs. Plastic and metal bowls for cats and dogs. Litter boxes (not covered) and different types of little for cats.

Carrefour supermarkets : cat and dog food, litter, some accessories for cats and dogs.

The American Vet : cat and dog food, including premium brands. Grooming products (shampoos, conditioners, brushes, scissors for claws, etc). Some nice toys. Water fountains. A couple of small cat trees.

Daiso : it's a Japanese value store with cheap items. The quality is not amazing, but it is soo cheap! The Madinat Zayed mall store is really big (it is located inside the Homes R Us store), with a nice inventory of toys for cats and dogs, brushes and combs, leashes and collars. The store in Al Wahda Mall has a little less choice but carries the essentials.
For cats, they also have these really lame scratching pads that you can either leave on the floor or pin on a wall. My cat wasn't too impressed by it, but it was better than nothing when I moved in :-D

Ace (hardware store in Yas Island) : no food but a nice variety of cats and dogs accessories, compared to the usual lack of choice. Quite a few toys and choice of small kennels. There's actually more choice in store than what is displayed in the above link :-)
This is the only place where I found an amazing corrugated cardboard scratching post for Charlie, from the brand Imperial Cat. It was expensive (around 100dhs), but I haven't found anything equivalent elsewhere.

You will see it by yourself when you will start looking for apartments (for example on Dubizzle), a lot of properties for rent don't have kitchen appliances. It can be quite unsettling because usually empty apartments for rent in Europe and the U.S. have an equipped kitchen : they're not literally empty :-D
So you will have three main options for your appliances and home electronics: Carrefour, Lulu, or your now best friend Dubizzle!

• Carrefour is a French supermarket company that sells food and also things for the house. They're kind of like the French Walmart. They have a great choice of appliances and electronics (TVs, home cinema, phones, cameras, computers and IT stuff). They have most of the brands that you would find in your home country. I'm not sure for electronics because I didn't buy anything there, but as far as the kitchen appliances are concerned, delivery and installation is free! The Carrefour store is located in Marina Mall, one of Abu Dhabi's main malls. To get an idea of the prices of all these items, you can check Carrefour's webstore IC4UAE. Carrefour sales staff is very knowledgeable about the products, and they have excellent after sale service. 
• Lulu is a Middle Eastern supermarket chain. They sell food in Lulu Supermarkets and all sorts of appliances and electronics either in the supermarket or in Lulu Department stores. These stores are usually located into important malls, so they're easy to access and to park to. Based on the Lulu stores I visited, they have a little less choice than Carrefour, but they seemed a little cheaper. They offer free delivery and installation of the kitchen appliances as well.
• Dubizzle is a cheap way to equip your home, but you'll have to install and deliver the items to yourself, so it might be a little bit of a hassle especially for kitchen appliances. As mentioned earlier in the post about furniture, lots of expats move away from the U.A.E. all the time and are willing to sell all of their stuff at once. Talking directly to someone is this situation might be more convenient for you than buying the appliances to different people.