This kitten is no scaredy-cat as she loves to go swimming in the sea with her owner

Story and video from Newsflare

This kitten proves she’s no scaredy-cat, by taking the plunge with her owner in the sea off the US Virgin Islands.

Michael Usher, 34, rescued Gracie and discovered shortly after that she loves to take a dip in the ocean.

Remarkable footage shows the brave kitten perched on Usher's shoulder as he swims off the coast of Saint John.

Usher said: "When I first found her, I took her to the vet to get all her shots and get a check-up. On the way home I decided to stop at the beach for a quick swim with my father.

"We decided to take turns swimming so Gracie wouldn’t be alone and someone could be with her playing on the beach. When it was my turn to go swimming, Gracie wasn’t having it and ran down towards the water to get to me. So I decided to see what she would do if I went out further.

"She jumped right into the water and started swimming towards me. So after that, I kept bringing her to the beach to swim, run on the beach, and climb in the trees on the shore. She loved it.

"I always said that I would give her the choice to swim or not, and never forced her to go in. When she was young she would go in all the time, as she got older she tended not to swim as much and instead liked climbing in the trees and going on hikes around the island."