Dealing with neighbors who complain about my outdoor cats

I've got a bit of a situation with the new neighbors on 4th. They're complaining that River is digging up their flower beds and hanging out on their porch. I've written up the full history of River's routine and why he needs the barn access in my previous thread about his health, so I won't repeat it all here. Basically, he's an outdoor cat and I can't keep him in a box all day, but I need to stop him from becoming a nuisance. Kettle, my indoor tabby, is fine, but River is the one causing the drama. I'm looking for ways to keep him on my side of the fence without getting into a shouting match with them.

Man, that sounds stressful. My Mochi is a 2-year-old dsh and he's still figuring out his boundaries, but he's mostly indoor. Have you tried the motion sprinklers? I saw a thread about motion sprinklers for cat control and it looked promising, but I'm not sure if they work well in the rain. If you live in a dry area, that might be your best bet to keep him off their property line.

I would be very anxious about this. My Milo has skin issues so I can't use any chemical deterrents, which makes it harder to manage fence line deterrents that actually work for me. Did you try talking to them first? I think my neighbor is mad about Mittens had some good advice on how to phrase things so it doesn't get personal. Maybe offer to put up a physical barrier on your end instead of just scaring the cat.

This is like a diplomatic crisis in miniature. My Ink is a 4-year-old tuxedo who is shy and hates new places, so I keep her strictly indoors, but I get that River needs to roam. Maybe you could try Nacho hates being cooped up for inspiration on how to make the barn area more appealing so he stays there? If he's busy playing with something on your side, he might not wander over as much. I'm curious if you've tried protecting my veg patch from cats style barriers, like those plastic strips that cats hate stepping on?