I also remember an episode where Garfield got away with saying “Jack-Ass” in an episode of a Saturday Morning Cartoon (!).
I can’t remember which ep, but when I heard it, I was all “Wait… did he just say that? In a cartoon? A Kids’ Saturday Morning Cartoon? And he said a swear? KICK ASS!!!”
It was actually when Garfield was telling a tale of a fat king (Jon) who was given a cat (Garfield) as a present from a wicked man and a witch. The cat ate all the king’s food, and when the king was being weighed his worth in gold, he decided to put the crown on the cat’s head, so the town would become rich.
I believe the line was “And because the witch didn’t get her payment for the cat, she turned that man into a jackass–mule–donkey, you see.” Because he did get turned into a donkey.