Guess I have a solution - with the following the "pictures" of the category are not too hight - and same time the product pictures are high enough.
And it works so far on small screens as well.
this is my code... - if you have a better solution, let me know 
Best Brigit
/*****************************************
CUSTOM CSS
******************************************/
/**deactivated because of 'too high category pictures'
.hikashop_subcontainer {
min-height: 220px !important;
}**/
.hikashop_container {
min-height: 220px !important;
}
@media screen and (max-width: 979px) {
.hikashop_container {
/* min-width: 150px !important;*/
width: 170px !important;
}}